Indian budget carrier Akasa Air on Wednesday said it will acquire four more Boeing 737 Max jets and announce a "three-digit" aircraft order this year as part of its expansion plans. These four planes will be in addition to the original order book of 72 Boeing 737 Max.
"We are excited to add four more Boeing 737-8 to support our international expansion, taking our initial order of 72 aircraft to 76 to be delivered in the next four years," Vinay Dube, Founder and CEO, Akasa Air, said.
He further added that the company is also on track to finalise another significant three-digit aircraft order and will be ready to announce it before the end of the calendar year.
The announcement was made at the ongoing Paris Air Show. The current order is a follow-up to the already placed order of 72 aircraft taking it to a total of 76 aircraft which include 23 737-8s and 53 high-capacity 737-8-200 planes.
"This follow-on order by Akasa demonstrates the market-leading capabilities of the 737 MAX in the world's fastest-growing commercial aviation market," said Brad McMullen, Boeing senior vice president of Commercial Sales and Marketing.
The airline, which started flying in August last year, has 19 aircraft and the 20th plane is to join the fleet in July. After having 20 planes in its fleet, the carrier expects to commence international operations by the end of 2023. It expects to have a total of 72 planes by March 2027.
The airline is looking at destinations in Southeast Asia, Middle East, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, among others, but is still in discussions with the government on the possible destinations.
Apart from Akasa Air, budget carrier IndiGo has placed a firm order for 500 A320 family aircraft, setting the record for the biggest single purchase agreement in the history of commercial aviation.
In February this year, Tata's Air India placed an order to buy 470 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus. Air India placed an order for 250 planes from Airbus.
Also Read: Vistara only Indian airline among the top 20 globally; IndiGo bags 43rd spot
Also Read: 'IndiGo deal with Airbus major win for UK aerospace', says PM Rishi Sunak