Akasa completes fresh investment transaction of Rs 1,200 crore

NEW DELHI: India’s youngest airline Akasa on Tuesday said it has completed funding transaction of about Rs 1,200 crore from new investors including Premji Invest, asset management firm 360 ONE Asset, and the investment office of Ranjan Pai.

Existing investor Jhunjhunwala family has also infused additional capital into the airline that started flying three years back and has run up significant losses like almost all startup airlines in India and globally. The fresh round of investment was announced earlier this Feb and the “closure follows the receipt of all requisite regulatory approvals.”Well-run airlines can aspire to turn profitable after acquiring a certain scale, something that the currently 30-aircraft strong Akasa is aspiring to with 190 Boeing 737 more on order and yet to be delivered to it.

The airline did not comment on the size of fresh fund infusion which is learnt to be Rs 1,200 crore.Terming the infusion as a “significant milestone in its growth journey,” the airline said it aspires to “rank among top 30 airlines in the world by the end of this decade.” The fresh funds will be used for “expanding operations, enhancing customer experience and investing in safety, reliability and advanced technology.”

Akasa founder & CEO Vinay Dube said: “We warmly welcome our new investors to the Akasian family and deeply appreciate their confidence in our team. Their support affirms our vision and strengthens our ability to scale sustainably while keeping customers and employees at the heart of our operations. We remain especially grateful to the Jhunjhunwala family for not just helping us take flight but for their continued belief in our dream to redefine air travel in India.

” Manoj Jaiswal of Premji Invest said: “We are excited to partner with Akasa, India's fastest growing airline, in its next phase of growth. We believe Indian aviation industry has strong growth potential, domestically and beyond. Team Akasa is brilliantly positioned to execute on this opportunity.”Umesh Agrawal, fund manager of 360 ONE Asset, said: “We are elated to partner with Akasa Air at a time when India’s aviation sector is poised for tremendous growth.

This investment will support Akasa Air’s mission to build a customer centric airline.”Shyam Powar, chief investment officer at Claypond Capital, said: “What excites us is not just the scale of the opportunity, but the passion and purpose with which the team is building this airline. We are proud to back Akasa and look forward to supporting them in their journey to build a world class airline from India.”As of now, Akasa has a network of 23 domestic and six international cities. It has flown over 2 crore passengers since inception.