India's Akasa Air nears order for 150 Boeing 737 MAX jets

Indian budget carrier Akasa Air is set to close an order for around 150 Boeing 737 MAX planes, two sources exclusively told Reuters.

Contract negotiations are ongoing and a deal is expected to be announced at Wings India, the country’s largest civil aviation event scheduled for Jan. 18-21, said the two sources familiar with the ongoing talks.

This order would add to Akasa’s order backlog of 76 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

Akasa is India’s newest airline and has garnered market share of 4% since it started flying in 2022, against IndiGo’s 60% and Tata Group airlines’ combined 26%.

Its Chief Commercial Officer Praveen Iyer told Indian newspaper Business Line in December that Akasa planned to announce a three-digit aircraft order in early 2024, without sharing any details.

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The first source said its new order for around 150 planes is likely to include some future purchasing options.

The airline currently flies only domestically, with a fleet of around two dozen planes. It was hit last year by the abrupt departure of about a tenth of its pilots and had warned it was flying less as a result, costing it market share. It has since said the issue is behind it.

Both sources said Akasa’s new plane order is aimed at fuelling its domestic and international expansion, with the narrowbody Boeing planes being ordered equipped to fly to nearby foreign destinations like Southeast Asia and the Middle East from India.

Akasa’s order will be another win for Boeing, which has been lagging behind Airbus in the fast-growing Indian market, where its other customers include SpiceJet.