India’s newest start-up, Akasa Air, has received five Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft on lease from Avolon.
The delivery of the aircraft started in December 2022 and was completed in January 2023. The sale and leaseback transaction is Avolon’s first deal with Akasa Air.
The start-up commenced operations in August 2022 and continues to scale its fleet and network, with a fleet expansion plan that would place one new aircraft into operation every fifteen days. The airline also recently added Varanasi as the 14th destination to its network, which is set to operate from mid-February.
The airline placed firm orders for 72 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft at the Dubai Airshow in November 2021 at a list price of US$9 billion.
Paul Geaney, President and Chief Commercial Officer at Avolon, commented: “We are excited to support new entrants to the market, so it is a pleasure to have completed this transaction to lease five new narrowbody aircraft to Akasa.”
Bhavin Joshi, Co-Founder and Senior Vice President of Leasing & Procurement at Akasa Air, added that they were “delighted” to join with Avolon, and will “continue to invest in new technology aircraft” that can offer reliability and superior carbon efficiency.
