'Have chosen to fly less, give up market share in short term': Akasa Air CEO on quitting of pilots

Akasa Air CEO Vinay Dube on Wednesday said that the low-cost carrier is opting to fly less and give up market share in the short term to ensure it runs a reliable operation after some pilots have quit the airline. 

In an email to the employees, Dube said: "When a small set of pilots abandoned their duties and left without serving their mandatory contractual notice period, it forced a disruption of flights between July and September, necessitating last minute cancellations." 

On September 16, Akasa Air said it has taken legal action against a "small set of pilots" for leaving the airline without serving their notice period. The departure of pilots had led to cancellation of many flights.

Over the past few weeks, Akasa Air was forced to cancel a number of its flights due to such resignations. Most of these pilots are understood to have accepted offers from Air India Express, which, like Akasa Air, operates Boeing 737 family of aircraft.

Pilot shortage is impacting services of the airline. "We have sought legal remedy only against a small set of pilots who abandoned their duties and left without serving their mandatory contractual notice period," an Akasa Air spokesperson said in a statement.

Akasa's market share slipped to 4.2 per cent in August from 5.2 per cent a month earlier, according to the latest available data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Reuters reported. Akasa's August numbers were below SpiceJet in the pecking order of domestic carriers. Akasa Air, which first took to the skies in August 2022, had overtaken SpiceJet in terms of market share in June and was ahead in July as well.

Dube, in his email, said:  "After much deliberation, we have initiated legal remedy against this small set of pilots who have left without serving their mandatory contractual notice period. Their actions were not only in violation of their contract but also the country's civil aviation regulation. Equally, this is deeply disrespectful to the hard work and utmost integrity that all of you have put in to build our wonderful airline."

"A shortage of pilots is an issue that the airline industry has faced for decades. As a team of planners, we are prepared for unforeseen circumstances and have contingency management strategies in place. In that regard, we have a ten-year plan that covers pilot recruitment, training and career upgrades. In fact, as of today, we have enough pilots at various phases of their training to fly over 30 aircraft. We are poised to take delivery of additional aircraft in the remainder of this fiscal year and expand our domestic and international footprint.  We also remain on track to announce a 3-digit aircraft order before the end of the year," he further said.

In a separate announcement, Dube said Akasa Air has got permission to fly on international routes. “The Ministry of Civil Aviation has recognised the strength of Akasa Air’s operations and we have been designated as an International Scheduled Operator. This new designation will allow us to fly internationally, enabling us to take one step closer to our dream of launching international operations before the end of this year. We are now working with all relevant authorities on our request for traffic rights and will soon be able to announce the international destination we will fly to. We are targeting destinations within the range of a 737 MAX from India in South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East," he said.
  
Any airline with a minimum of 20 planes in its fleet can launch international flights. Akasa Air, which operated its inaugural flight in August last year, received its 20th B737 Max plane from Boeing on August 1.

Dube said the low-cost carrier will soon announce a 3-digit aircraft order by the end of this year to serve the growing travel demand. "We have always prioritised reliability and customer satisfaction through detailed planning and an experienced team, allowing us to become one of the fastest-growing airline in civil aviation history,” he said.

Also read: Low-cost carrier Akasa Air moves court against 43 pilots who quit without any notice

Also read: Yatra Online IPO booked over 62% on day 3; issue closes for bidding today