Akasa- the Indian start-up airline which has been backed by famous billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala- has finally placed an order with Boeing for 72 aircraft. The order came at Dubai air show held in November and followed up with an order with CFM for engines. Unlike Airbus, the Boeing-737 MAX has no options for engines with the CFM LEAP being the only available engine for the MAX. The total order exceeds over $13 billion at list prices but airlines are known to get discounts, especially at a time when Boeing is trying to enter India big time. This is a major step forward for Akasa and a giant leap for Boeing- which has been trying to find a foothold in the Indian narrowbody aircraft market.
In a statement commenting on the deal, Akasa said the carrier plans to offer commercial flights starting in the summer of 2022 and use its new fleet of 737s to meet the growing demand across India. The airline has signed up for the Boeing-737 MAX-8 or 737-8 as they are now known as well as the high-capacity 737-8-200.
The US aircraft maker was late to the market with its re-engineered aircraft- the 737 MAX. The two fatal crashes and subsequent grounding had dealt a further blow to the manufacturer. With Jet Airways out, Boeing currently has only one customer for narrowbody aircraft in India, which is SpiceJet. While SpiceJet has over 200 737 MAX on order, the airline hasn't restarted flying the MAX, even after the regulator allowed operating the aircraft.
India- an Airbus market
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