Indian airline Akasa Air, which made its international debut with flights to Qatar in March, is further expanding its network reach with service to a second overseas destination—Saudi Arabia.
The carrier has opened reservations for two routes to the Middle East country, offering flights to Jeddah from both Mumbai and Ahmedabad. These services will complement Akasa’s sole international route between Mumbai and Doha, which operates four times per week.
The airline received clearance last September to launch international operations after taking delivery of its 20th Boeing 737-8 aircraft. India’s regulators require airlines to have 20 aircraft in their fleets before operating international flights.
The following month, Akasa subsequently secured permission to fly from India to Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, with the first international service to Hamad International Airport in Qatari capital Doha launching on March 28, 2024.
According to the carrier’s booking system, flights between Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM) and Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) will commence on July 15 with 12 roundtrips per week. This will be followed by a 2X-weekly service from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (AMD), starting on July 20.
Akasa will face competition on both sectors from LCC IndiGo, which serves each route daily. Additionally, Air India and Vistara provide daily flights between BOM and JED, while Saudia offers the same route 3X-weekly.
Akasa’s planned entry into the India-Saudi Arabia market comes as traffic between the countries continues to surge, boosted by strong VFR and religious demand, as well as flows of migrant labor. The Saudi Tourism Authority is also looking to make India its top source market, seeking to attract 7.5 million Indian visitors by 2030, up from about 1.5 million in 2023.
OAG Schedules Analyser data shows that capacity between the nations totals some 488,000 two-way seats in May 2024, marking a rise of 55% on the same month in 2019. IndiGo has the largest share of the market at present, accounting for 28.4% of the total available capacity, followed by Saudia and Air India Express.
