We will fly international next year: Akasa Air’s Praveen Iyer

Akasa Air is gearing up to expand beyond its home turf amid a post-pandemic rebound in air travel across the globe. In a wide-ranging interview with DH’s Lavpreet Kaur, Akasa Air co-founder and chief commercial officer, Praveen Iyer, shed light on its new routes, strategies to compete better with rivals and its learnings in the four months of operation. Edited excerpts.

How has Akasa Air’s experience of flying in Indian skies been so far?

It's been a great start. We have so far announced 11 destinations, with the 11th one starting 25th of December, that’s Lucknow from Bangalore. Clearly, our experience with every other destination that we've started with has been absolutely positive. We will continue to add more into these destinations and in due course, also announce new destinations. We are getting about 20 aircrafts by May, doubling in about six months.

What are your most profitable air routes?

As you start operations, it is important for you to add frequency and create a strong distribution network. Very glad to have reached seven frequencies between Bombay and Bangalore, we are the number 2 player today in the market. We started off in the month of August with a 53 per cent load factor, and we’re currently at a 81 per cent load factor.

What is your take on the UDAN scheme?

Udan, as a scheme, is between city pairs which are not served today. Most of these unserved markets have airstrips which cannot take a B-737, or A-320 or A-321. Our fleet is that of B-737 Max, and we’ve placed 72 aircraft orders which will be delivered by about March-April 2027.

Are you planning to cover pilgrim routes such as Tirupati, Shirdi, and Amritsar?

It is too early for us, with the aircraft type that we have, to consider those options. But our focus is around getting into tier-2, tier-3 cities, and what will be announced in the next few days will be something similar.

Are you looking to add other aircraft types to your fleet?

As of now, we have 70 services getting delivered, and that's the five-year horizon. 19 of them will be 189 seaters and the rest will be 197 seaters. That's the order that we have placed and we stand by those orders and we will execute those orders as of now. There is no plan to look at another aircraft.

What has the passenger feedback been like?

Affordability, and warm and efficient service are at the top. The feedback that we're getting from pet parents is remarkable. On the product itself, a lot of appreciation is coming towards the leg room, it's a lot more spacious for the individuals. The other piece is how spick and span the aircraft is. We want to make sure we maintain that through the next few years. On the cargo side, (we are) carrying close to one tonne (1000 kg) per aircraft, while the industry runs at an average of 400 to 500 kg.The last piece is the meals in general. After we announced ‘Cafe Akasa’, I think at least three other airlines changed their menu on board, which just goes to show that they're watching us closely.

What is your advice to passengers fretting over higher airfares?

In 2019-2020, the average (number of) departures per day was 3150 flights a day domestic. Today, (that is) sitting at 2750. So there is a significant reduction in the capacity and (the rise of) revenge travel. There is a supply-demand mismatch. So, prices will fluctuate. So my advice to you (passengers) would be to book in advance, get a good deal.

How does the Vistara - Air India merger affect you and the aviation sector in general?

It really doesn't matter whether a group consolidates. The market is big enough for all of us. So we are not going to hurt each other. We are going to create more first-time flyers. 2750 departures today have to go to 6300 departures for you to get the 400 million (passengers) and India will see that growth. So it's not going to affect anybody. Everybody's going to be happy. Everybody is going to see enhanced connectivity. About the consolidation, will it happen or not? I don't know. Is it sustainable? Definitely, yes.

When will we see Akasa Air flights in international skies?

After we get to 20 aircraft, which is towards May of next year, international opens up for us. The 21st aircraft could potentially go to international destinations. As of now, it appears that the latter part of next year is when we can fly International and we will evaluate options.

Could you please tell us about some of your mistakes and your plans to fix them?

It has been on the product consistency side due to supply chain constraints. That's one inconsistency we get rid of in the next six to nine months where all the seats will be 189, with a three-by-three configuration, every seat moves into fabric, USB ports will be reconfigured along with the seats. So by July-August is when we will be satisfied with that product offering which addresses all these three issues. Apart from that, when you want every customer to be happy, It doesn't happen. You want to make sure not a single flight is delayed, but it does happen. You don't want a single flight to get cancelled, but it has happened. So those are small things which we want to avoid.

We need to create a buffer between the delivery and launch. So those are mistakes that we learn from and and we continue to learn from. And tech-enabled is where our focus is going to be largely and we will make sure that we continue to invest there so that the customer experience is not compromised and the employees are also happy.