Akasa Air (QP, Mumbai International) took delivery of the first aircraft, a B737-8, on June 16, 2022, completing a major milestone ahead of its certification and launch of operations planned for July 2022.
"This is indeed a symbolic milestone in the journey of Akasa Air, bringing us one step closer to the process of obtaining our Air Operator's Permit (AOP) and leading to our commercial launch," Founder and Chief Executive Vinay Dube said.
VT-YAA (msn 62871) is one of five Akasa has sold and leased back from Griffin Global Asset Management. It remains parked at Seattle Boeing Field and is scheduled to deliver to Delhi International by the end of the month. The aircraft will subsequently be used for Akasa's AOC proving flights with the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The start-up had already deferred its launch from June to July 2022 and has so far stuck to its new date despite the delayed delivery of the first aircraft.
Akasa Air plans to take a further seventeen B737 MAX by March 2023 and another 54 over the next four years. The airline intends to operate both B737-8s and B737-8-200s but did not reveal the exact split between the variants.
