Akasa Air rules out consolidation talks with rival Indigo, Air India; CEO says 'not good for country'

Akasa Air has no interest in consolidation with rival carriers, its founder and chief executive Vinay Dube said on Friday, arguing that further mergers among India’s largest airlines would not be in the country’s interest.

India currently has only three airline groups with large aircraft order books and, according to Dube, consolidation among them would reduce competition.

“Well, we have only three airlines in India that have an order book: the Tata Group, IndiGo, and Akasa,” Dube said. “I don’t think it’s good for the country if these three consolidate with each other. So no, there is no such talk or discussion, nor do I think there should be any discussion about further consolidation of airlines within India.”

India’s aviation market has undergone rapid consolidation in recent years following the collapse of Jet Airways and Go First, while the Tata Group absorbed Air India, Vistara and AirAsia India into a single group to compete with market leader IndiGo.

Dube said Akasa remains optimistic about policy support for aviation in the Union Budget, citing sustained government focus on airport and infrastructure development.

“I have very high expectations,” he said. “Every year I have high expectations, and every year I am not disappointed because the government has maintained an incredible focus on aviation infrastructure. I expect that focus to continue in this year’s budget as well.”

On regional connectivity, Dube said some government-backed routes increasingly favour smaller aircraft, limiting Akasa’s participation because the airline operates Boeing 737 MAX planes with around 189 seats.

“When you’re flying from one tier-3 city to another tier-3 city, you need a 50-seater or 75-seater aircraft,” he said. “Akasa has a 189-seat-plus 737 MAX, so some of the regional connectivity schemes today may not be ones we can take advantage of.”

However, Dube said the airline sees significant opportunity in international operations.

Akasa began flying overseas within 20 months of launch, a first for an Indian airline, he said.

Currently about 5% of Akasa’s capacity, measured by available seat kilometres (ASK), is deployed on international routes. That share could rise to around 40% over the next two to four years, Dube said.

“We think India’s tourism sector is also at a very early stage,” he said. “We’d love to be able to fly internationally and bring those consumers to see all the riches that Indian culture has to offer.”