Akasa Air, India’s newest airline, has opened bookings for flights starting 7th August 2022.
Akasa Air’s initial route network will include 4 cities in India. They are:
- Mumbai
- Ahmedabad
- Bengaluru
- Kochi
In the inaugural phase of its network development, the airline will launch 28-weekly flights between Mumbai and Ahmedabad with the inaugural flight scheduled to take off from Mumbai bound for Ahmedabad on 7th August 2022. Then, from 13th August 2022, Akasa Air will connect Bengaluru with Kochi with 28-weekly flights. The schedule of the flights is as follows:
All the flights are open for sale now on the mobile app (only available on Google Play Store for now), on its website, through travel agents and several OTAs across the country. The airline states that travellers can “look out for fare specials being announced as the airline makes its foray into each new sector across the country”.
Vinay Dube, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Akasa Air, said:
We are extremely excited to finally be able to offer up our flights for sale. We are also excited to reveal our product which promises to be unlike anything experienced in the category thus far. With Akasa employees providing warm and efficient customer service, a reliable and dependable network, and affordable fares – we look forward to serving our customers with a flying experience that I am sure they will find delightful.
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Akasa Air is entering a very crowded market like India, where more than 50% of the market is handled by just one airline, Indigo. In order to differentiate itself from rival low-cost carriers, it needs to do something different. And Akasa Air seems to be doing just that. Passengers can find a USB-port at every seat onboard Akasa Air. I know it’s not a big differentiator but in the technology driven world that we live in, it could make a sizeable difference.
The airline’s Boeing B737MAX-8 will feature an all-Economy Class configuration consisting of 189 seats. The aircraft also features Boeing Sky Interior, highlighted by modern sculpted sidewalls, window reveals and mood lighting. The airline has not revealed what will be the seat pitch, but it only mentions that the seats will be “spacious”.
As stated by the airline officials again and again, Akasa Air will focus on providing linkages from metro to tier-2 and tier-3 cities across India.
Commenting on Akasa Air’s network expansion plans, Praveen Iyer, Co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer, Akasa Air, said:
Akasa Air’s network strategy is focused on establishing a strong pan-India presence and providing linkages from metro to tier 2 and tier 3 cities across the country. We kick-start operations with flights between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, with the brand-new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. We will adopt a phased approach to support our network expansion plans, progressively connecting more cities, as we add two aircraft to our fleet each month, in our first year.
Akasa Air, being a low-cost airline, will offer buy-on-board meal service called “Café Akasa”. A selection of fusion meals, farm-inspired and plant-based offerings, varied menu options like pasta, Vietnamese rice rolls, hot chocolate and a year-round festival menu inspired by Indian cuisines and celebrations will be available onboard. As an environmentally progressive airline, Akasa Air says that the packaging of perishable meals will be ethically sourced from sustainably grown crops.
Belson Coutinho, Co-founder and Chief Marketing and Experiences Officer, Akasa Air, said:
We want to be a compassionate airline with a focus on being dependable, warm, efficient, and reliable. We will provide our passengers with category-first product choices and a happy travel experience which is tech-forward, inclusive, environmentally progressive – all in the Akasa way.
Here’s a promotional video of Akasa Air:
Meanwhile, Akasa Air recently unveiled crew uniforms.
Featured image by Akasa Air
What do you think of Akasa Air’s first choice of destinations? Let me know in the comments section below.
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