Akasa Air announces launch of international flights, to start Mumbai-Doha service from March 28

Prior to 2016, Indian carriers became eligible to fly overseas after completing five years of domestic operations and having a minimum fleet size of 20 aircraft. In June that year, the government did away with the five-year requirement, making the 20-aircraft fleet size the only criteria to mount international flights.

Akasa Air received its 20th aircraft in August 2023, barely a year after it started commercial operations. The airline is initially eyeing high-traffic geographies like the Middle East and Southeast Asia for its international operations. Apart from Doha, Akasa Air has received government approvals to operate flights to Riyadh, Jeddah, Doha and Kuwait.

“We are delighted to announce our international operations with the launch of our first destination — Doha, to our growing network. The introduction of four flights a week, connecting directly with Mumbai, a key Indian commercial hub, will cater to a diverse set of travellers from the two countries, facilitating tourism, commerce and strengthening bilateral ties,” said Vinay Dube, Akasa Air’s founder and chief executive officer.

Dube added, “Our foray into Qatar marks the next phase of growth as we continue our journey towards becoming one of the world’s top 30 airlines by the turn of this decade.”

The announcement of the launch of international flights comes a few weeks after Akasa Air announced a firm order of 150 Boeing 737 MAX family planes, taking its total order size for the aircraft to 226.

“These additions to our fleet will help us bolster the strength of our operations as we expand our footprint and foray into international skies in the very near future,” Dube had said when the 150-aircraft order was announced.

Currently, foreign airlines account for a majority of passenger traffic flying into and out of India. The combined market share of Indian carriers by passengers carried on international flights was 44.3 per cent in April-September (H1) of the current financial year, as per data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Of the total of 3.14 crore travellers who flew into or out of India in H1, Indian airlines carried 1.39 crore passengers.

Market leader IndiGo had a market share (by passengers ferried) of 17.8 per cent in the international segment. The three Tata group airlines — Air India, Air India Express and Vistara — had a combined market share of 23.5 per cent in terms of international passengers ferried in H1.