Akasa Air launched Agartala-Bengaluru flight

Agartala: Akasa Air, India's newest airline, on Friday launched its daily flight services in the Agartala-Bengaluru route, via Guwahati. A total of 107 passengers boarded the maiden flight, which was flagged off by Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha at a simple ceremony at Agartala's Maharaja Bir Bikram airport. Tripura Transport Minister Pranajit Singha Roy and MBB Airport Director KC Meena among others were present at the ceremony.

According to Akasa Air co-founder Belson Coutinho, the airliner, which completed 75 days of commercial operations on Friday, is a low-cost start-up and currently operates 7 aircraft to 17 different destinations and the process is on to procure 10 more aircraft.

Akasa Air launches flights from Agartala to Bengaluru via Guwahati.

23/10/22  Sentinel

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Akasa Air Starts Flights To North-East India

India’s newest budget carrier Akasa Air is rapidly covering all corners of the country, with its latest flights to Guwahati and Agartala in North-East India. The airline has seen steady growth in just over two months of operations and has captured almost 1% of India’s domestic market share.

On October 21st, Akasa Air started connecting Bengaluru (BLR) in South India to Agartala (IXA) via Guwahati (GAU) in the North East. The airline announced GAU and IXA as its latest destinations last month, with Guwahati being the gateway to the state of Assam and Agartala as one of the fastest-growing cities in the region.

Flight QP1323 has a scheduled departure time of 09:20 from Bengaluru, arriving in Guwahati at 12:25. After a brief stopover, it leaves for Agartala at 13:00 with an arrival time of 13:55.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha was at Agartala’s Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport to mark the occasion along with Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Tourism & Transport, Pranajit Singha Roy, and Kailash Chander Meena, the airport director.

The airline also consolidated its Bengaluru-Chennai (MAA) network yesterday by adding a 5th frequency between this route. Akasa now flies to eight destinations in the country.

22/10/22 Gaurav Joshi/Simple Flying

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Akasa Air flight from Ahmedabad to Bengaluru cancelled on technical grounds

Passengers of the newly-launched Akasa Air had to face hardship on Tuesday as their flight from Ahmedabad to Bengaluru was cancelled on technical grounds at the last moment. This caused chaos at the airline's check-in counters with passengers demanding alternative flights to their destination, a passenger said.

Akasa Air QP 1332 was scheduled to depart at 9.55 pm, but the airline informed the passengers that it was rescheduled at 10.55 pm, the passenger told PTI over phone.

At 10.30 pm, they said that they have cancelled the flight due to some "technical" reasons, he said.

"The airline said that we can fly on Wednesday at the same time. But it did not offer passengers food or hotel accommodation. It told us to take a refund or wait till tomorrow at the airport," the passenger alleged.

An airline spokesperson confirmed that the fight was cancelled on the technical ground.

"The flight has been cancelled due to technical reasons. The aircraft is grounded and being inspected. The passengers have been given the option either to avail the full refund or make arrangements in a hotel on their own and the airline will disburse that amount," said a spokesperson.

19/10/22 PTI/Economic Times

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'No Food, no Hotel' Passengers blame Akasa Air for cancelling Ahmedabad-Bengaluru flight at the last moment

The newly launched Indian airline Akasa Air is finding it hard to please its passengers due to teething issues. After facing backlash on social media for not having an option of auto allotting seats, an Ahmedabad-Bengaluru flight was cancelled on technical grounds at the last moment. The passengers of the Akasa Air blame the airline for cancelling the flight at the last moment and not offering food or accommodation to the stranded passengers, reports PTI. As per various passengers, they had to face hardship on Tuesday as their flight from Ahmedabad to Bengaluru was cancelled on technical grounds at the last moment.

This caused chaos at the airline's check-in counters with passengers demanding alternative flights to their destination, a passenger said. Akasa Air QP 1332 was scheduled to depart at 9.55 pm, but the airline informed the passengers that it was rescheduled at 10.55 pm, the passenger told PTI over phone.

At 10.30 pm, they said that they have cancelled the flight due to some "technical" reasons, he said. "The airline said that we can fly on Wednesday at the same time. But it did not offer passengers food or hotel accommodation. It told us to take a refund or wait till tomorrow at the airport," the passenger alleged.

An airline spokesperson confirmed that the fight was cancelled on the technical ground. "The flight has been cancelled due to technical reasons. The aircraft is grounded and being inspected. The passengers have been given the option either to avail the full refund or make arrangements in a hotel on their own and the airline will disburse that amount," said a spokesperson.

19/10/22 ZeeNews

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Jet Airways CEO travels in Akasa Air flight, praises RIVAL airline for ‘excellent crew’

Jet Airways CEO Sanjiv Kapoor is an avid social media user and never backs from expressing his views on matters of aviation. Recently the aviation expert took a flight in one of the planes of India's newest airline. After his flight, the company's CEO expressed his views on the services provided by the new airline through his Twitter account. Along with his experience with the airline, he also shared a picture with the crew members of Akasa Air. It is to be noted that Akasa Air began its operations in India two months ago and is the first airline to open in India in the last decade.

Sanjiv Kapoor, in his flight review, praised the airline for its "warm and personalized service."Sharing his experience in his tweet Sanjiv Kapoor said, "Nice flight on Akasa this afternoon, excellent crew with warm and personalized service." The post was accompanied by one of the pictures. Sharing one other picture along with the post Jet Airways CEO said, "And one where I took my mask off for a moment for the photo. Crew diligently kept theirs on."

Recently, the airline began its flight operations from Delhi and is working on expanding its domestic flight services. Currently, Akasa Air has a fleet of 6 aircraft and runs roughly 30 flights every day. But by the end of March 2019, the company will have purchased 72 Boeing 737-800 MAX aircraft and will have 18 brand-new aircraft. At present, the airline is working with a total staff of 800 people and the number keeps increasing every month.

19/10/22 Zee News

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Bengaluru-bound Akasa Air plane suffers bird strike, safely returns to Mumbai airport

For the first time, a Boeing aircraft of India's newest airline Akasa Air suffered a bird strike on its way to Bengaluru airport, forcing the plane to return to its origin airport. The plane landed at Mumbai Airport on Saturday, keeping the passengers safe. The incident occurred while the plane was completing its flight QP1103. Based on reports, the problem was noticed after a burning smell originated from the engine was noticed in the cabin of the plane. Taking note of the situation, the pilot took prompt action returning the passengers and the plane safely to Mumbai Airport.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is looking into the incident, the official said. The number of passengers on board the flight could not be immediately known. "The aircraft VT-YAE, operating Akasa Air flight from Mumbai for Bengaluru, was involved in air turnback due to the burning smell felt in the cabin. The smell increased as the thrust was increased," said the official. 

Akasa Air has issued a statement on the situation saying, "The aircraft was positioned for a detailed inspection and has now returned to service. Our customer service team assisted passengers and arrangements were made to accommodate their journeys. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused."

The DGCA official said, however, no other abnormality, including in engine parameters was observed. "After landing during the inspection, bird remains were found on engine number 1 of the aircraft," he said and added that "the burning smell was due to bird strike," he stated. Akasa Air started its operations on August 7 this year.

15/10/22 ZeeNews

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Akasa Air Considering Overnight Parking At Tier 2 And 3 City Airports

Akasa Air is taking seriously its promise of focusing more on non-metro cities, with several of its existing routes focusing on such destinations. Now, it has emerged that it is also considering parking some of its planes overnight at some of the tier-2 and 3 city airports it serves.

In the months leading up to the launch of Akasa Air, its top management had made it clear that the airline would primarily focus on connecting metro cities with India’s tier-2 and tier-3 destinations. Indeed, its initial network already features cities like Guwahati, Agartala, and Kochi. In fact, India’s largest airport Delhi (DEL), didn’t even feature on the airline’s map until its second month.

But the airline is not just interested in landing slots at some of the smaller airports; it is reportedly also considering parking its airplanes at some of these places. A report by Mint quotes an airline official as saying,

“We are evaluating options to base our aircraft and looking at tier-2, tier-3 cities, we have announced flights to Guwahati and Agartala. Beyond that, we will explore opportunities to park our aircraft. It does not really matter to us whether it is tier-2, tier-3 or tier-4 cities. If we see potential, we will do what is right for the airline’s economic standpoint.”

At the moment, Akasa parks its planes in Mumbai (BOM) and Bengaluru (BLR) airports. But as it adds more aircraft with a sharp focus on expanding its footprint in non-metro cities, the option of overnight parking at such airports seems plausible.

10/10/22 Gaurav Joshi/Simple Flying

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Akasa Air witnessed close to 1 lakh passengers in first 7 weeks of operations, says airline

Akasa Air, which took to the skies two months ago, on Thursday said it witnessed close to 1 lakh passengers in the first 7 weeks of operations.

In an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18, Praveen Iyer, co-founder, and the chief operating officer said the airline recorded an improvement in the load factor from 53 percent to 80 percent.

"Demand is high but we are 10-12 percent short on the capacity side when we exited February 2020 versus where we are today in September 2022. We have still not gone to pre-COVID levels on the demand side," Iyer said.

The airline said it's "satisfied" with its performance in the first 60 days since its inception and is planning to allow domesticated dogs and cats on board starting in November 2022.

06/10/22  Ashmit Kumar/CNBC TV18

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Want to fly to your next vacation with your pet in cabin?

Travelling with pets comes with umpteen challenges especially when travelling by air. There is no standard procedure for flying with pets and airlines across the globe have their own policies. Currently, there are only two airlines in India that allow pets in cabin in domestic flights. Here is a look at the airlines that allow pets and their rules.

Akasa Air's management recently announced that the airline will allow pets in the cabin and cargo hold. The airline said it will allow one pet per person on board with weight up to 7 kg and in the first phase only domesticated cats and dogs will be allowed in the cabin.

Small domestic pets such as dogs, cats and birds are allowed on Air India domestic flights in the cabin or in cargo hold at owner's risk. However, such carriage is subject to approval of the commander of the flight after verification of valid health and rabies vaccination certificates of the pet.

The pet must be carried in soft ventilated bags/kennel in the prescribed size, which is not more than 18” x 18” x 12”.

A moisture absorbent mat must be placed in the container for cleanliness.

The weight of the pet including the container should not exceed 5 kg for carriage in the cabin. Larger pets will be carried in the cargo hold.

Dogs and cats must be at least 8 weeks of age to travel in the airline and pregnant pets will not be accepted.

A maximum of two pets are permitted in cabin per flight, one in the last row of First/Business class and one in the last row of Economy class.

The pet dog must be properly muzzled and leashed and the Pets/Guide Dogs will not be allowed to occupy a passenger seat.

06/10/22 CNBCTV18.com 

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Akasa Air is now second Indian airline, after Air India, to allow pets to fly with passengers

Akasa Air, the low-cost airline headquartered in Mumbai, has become one of the two airlines in India to allow pets in the passenger cabin. Other than the Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-founded airline, Air India was the only airline to allow pets as cabin add-ons (only for domestic flights). 

Air India's pet policy allows pets in the passenger cabin but only for domestic flights (photo-Air India)

Other airlines like Jet Airways and SpiceJet allow pets only within the cargo hold. IndiGo, Vistara and AirAsia do not permit the carriage of pets on flights at all. 

IndiGo doesn't allow the carriage of any pets with guide dogs and service dogs being the exception (photo-IndiGo)

Akasa’s move was announced at a press conference today (October 6) with the airlines referring to it as a step towards a more “inclusive” flying experience. 

AirAsia, much like IndiGo doesn't allow animals even in the cargo(photo-Air Asia)

This has been a first-of-its kind move for India as other Indian airlines allow animals in the cabin only if they were service animals or guide dogs for blind people. 

While this change is yet to be reflected on Akasa Air’s website, going by the terminology of Air India’s pet policy, it is most likely that carrying a pet on cabin or cargo hold would be “at owner's risk and subject to requirements of the carrier.” 

06/10/22 Shaurya Thapa/DailyO

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Akasa Air to allow passengers to travel with their pets from November 1

New Delhi: Good news for pet owners! India’s new airline, Akasa Air will open a special cabin for pets on board. The company's management team said in a press conference today in New Delhi that passengers can now travel with their pets in the cabin.

While the company stated that the booking will start from October 15, pets will be allowed to fly from November 1, 2022. "We will now allow pets on board on Akasa flights as part of our commitment to creating an inclusive travel experience," said Belson Coutinho, co-founder and CMO of Akasa Air, as quoted by CNBC 18.

To create an inclusive travel experience, the official statement by the airline company stated that pets will travel in the cabin and cargo compartment. A pet weighing up to 7kg will be allowed in the cabin.

Akasa Air has become the second airline company to allow pets on flights. Till now, only Air India allowed "small inoffensive domestic pets" like dogs, cats and birds, accompanied by Health and Rabies vaccination certificates, to fly.

06/10/22 Daphne Clarance/India Today

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Akasa Air collaborates with RateGain to make air travel affordable by leveraging accurate airfare

Akasa Air, India’s newest airline, has selected an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered product to make air travel affordable by leveraging accurate and real-time airfare data. AirGain by RateGain allows access and agility to act upon changing market dynamics and optimize airfares in real-time to provide the best prices to its customers.

The AI-powered platform empowers airline revenue and pricing teams with the most accurate and reliable market insights to build a competitive pricing strategy. Through an easy-to-use UI that allows faster decision-making, AirGain allows the airlines to get notified whenever there is a change in the market.

Additionally, the intelligence provides the user with real-time competitor insights across channels to reduce disparity and revenue losses.

“A new airline like Akasa Air, comes to the market with the mindset to adopt the latest technology, and we are delighted that the team decided to choose AirGain to power their growth journey.

As Akasa grows, our product AirGain will help in maximising revenues by providing accurate and real-time competitive intelligence. AirGain was selected based on data accuracy and delivery, easy-to-use UI, and the extensive support available to Akasa through our dedicated teams -and we are committed to deliver on this promise,” said Bhanu Chopra, Chairman and Managing Director, RateGain.

01/10/22 Radhika Bansal/100knots

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