Billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Plans to Have 70 Planes for New Low-Cost Airline

Jhunjhunwala said that he is expecting a no-objection certificate from India's aviation ministry within 15 days.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala said that he plans on setting up Akasa Air– a new, ultra-low cost airline in India, and acquiring 70 aircrafts for it within the next four years.

(Photo: File Photo)

Billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala has said that he plans on setting up Akasa Air – a new, ultra-low cost airline in India. In an interview with Bloomberg, he said that the airline will have 70 aircraft within the next four years.

With an investment of USD 35 million and 40 percent ownership of the carrier, Jhunjhunwala said that he is expecting a no-objection certificate from India's aviation ministry in the next 15 days, Bloomberg reported.

A former senior executive of Delta Air Lines Inc is set to join Akasa Air, which will make planes with a passenger capacity of 180.

Jhunjhunwala stated, "For the culture of a company to be frugal you've to start off fresh," adding, "I'm very, very bullish on India's aviation sector in terms of demand."

Amid a global pandemic, the demand for air travel was significantly impacted and India's airline market faces greater risk of delayed recovery as the threat of a third wave of infections looms, Bloomberg reported.

Before the pandemic, Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, once the country's second-largest domestic carrier, ceased functioning in 2012, while Jet Airways India Ltd collapsed in three years ago.

Meanwhile, the country's largest airline, IndiGo, had reported a tremendous loss owing to the health crisis.

Saying that he's partnered with the best in the industry, he added, "I think some of the increment players may not recover."

(With inputs from Bloomberg)