New Delhi, Jan 18 (PTI) With Akasa Air announcing an order for 150 aircraft on Thursday, three Indian carriers together have ordered a total of 1,120 planes in less than one year as they expand their presence in the country’s fast growing civil aviation market.
The less than two-year-old Akasa Air has placed a firm order for 150 Boeing 737 Max planes, comprising 737 Max 10 and 737 Max 8-200 jets.
In 2023, which also saw domestic air traffic climbing new highs, Air India and IndiGo together placed orders for 970 planes with Boeing and Airbus.
Tata Group-owned Air India ordered 470 planes — 250 from Airbus and 220 from Boeing — in February last year. Later in June, the country’s largest airline IndiGo announced an order with Airbus to buy 500 narrow-body planes.
Now, Akasa Air, Air India and IndiGo together have placed orders for 1,120 planes since February last year.
Besides these orders, Indian carriers are set to take deliveries of new planes that were ordered earlier. IndiGo alone has an order book of nearly 1,000 planes.
Grounded Go First, which has not been flying since May last year, had an order for 72 aircraft.
Together, domestic carriers are expected to take deliveries of more than 1,600 planes in the coming years, according to an analysis.
Currently, the fleet size of the Indian airlines is 730.
On Wednesday, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said the fleet size of Indian carriers will reach 1,500 to 2,000 by 2030.
India is one of the fastest growing civil aviation markets in the world.
