Aviation veteran Aditya Ghosh to help Jhunjhunwala’s ultra low-cost airline take off

Ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala who is planning to launch an ultra low-cost airline will be joined by aviation veteran and former president of IndiGo Aditya Ghosh in the new venture. Jhunjhunwala and former Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dube are planning to launch Akasa, the newest entrant in India’s aviation sector. The airline will be modelled similar to Irish ultra low-cost carrier Ryanair, one of the most successful and aggressive low-cost carriers in the world.

Ghosh who had joined IndiGo in 2008 had taken it to great heights till he quit in 2018. He oversaw IndiGo’s rise from a fledgling airline to one of the biggest carriers by market share with a fleet of 160 planes.

The veteran will own less than 10 per cent in the airline and will be Jhunjhunwala’s nominee to the board, people in the know told The Economic Times. Akasa will be Ghosh’s ‘key focus’ even though he will not be part of the management. Jhunjhunwala is expected to hold 40 per cent in the airline, while the mind behind the venture, Dube, is likely to hold over 15 per cent. Boston-based investor Par Capital Management, and Airbnb are also investing in the airline, the daily stated.

Ghosh is also the board member of apparel retailer Fab India and hotel aggregator Oyo Rooms.

Jhunjhunwala plans to induct 70 airplanes within four years and is likely to invest $35 billion in the airline. He is expecting to get a no-objection certificate from the aviation ministry in the next 15 days.

The ace investor said in an interview on Wednesday that he is very bullish on the aviation sector in terms of demand. “For the culture of a company to be frugal you’ve to start off fresh,” said Jhunjhunwala.

Praveen Iyer, who has held several positions at Jet Airways, is likely to be appointed as the chief commercial officer of Akasa. He also had a short stint at GoAir. Former VP for revenue management at GoAir Anand Srinivasan is likely to be the CTO.

Also read: Rakesh Jhunjhunwala likely to invest Rs 260.7 crore in new low-fare airline