As part of its growth strategy, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed new airline Akasa is in talks with US aerospace company Boeing for buying up to 100 737 Max aircraft.
Former Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dube and his family members are promoters while ex-IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh is a board member of the airline.
According to sources familiar with the development, Akasa airline is in negotiation with Boeing and has reached out to the government to recertify the aircraft which has been grounded since 2018 after two crashes killing 349 persons.
Each 737 Max jet will cost roughly $100 million. But such aircraft is sold for less than half of its price. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala had revealed his decision to by 70 aircraft within the first five years of its operation.
Akasa is going for narrowbody aircraft with dens seating of more than 185 seats so that the airline can serve with its low-cost structure. Most of the Indian airlines like Indigo, Vistara, AirAsia India and GoFirst avail A320 aircraft of Airbus. This aircraft is in direct competition with 737 Max aircraft of Boeing.
Akasa is looking at a certain scale to compete in the domestic aviation industry by procuring at least 25 airlines during the initial phase of its operation.
