Founder and CEO Akasa Air
“Akasa is bringing Asia’s first 737 – 8-200 to India this month”
BY: Manisha Singhal
He might want Akasa Air to be a magic airline – one that offers almost everything to everybody. Perhaps a tad bit ambitious in the world of aviation more so in India where airlines fall off the radar every few years.
But Vinay Dube, CEO Akasa Air, can’t be faulted for wanting a bigger slice of the sky as Akasa within 11 months of its launch has added 19 aircraft to its fleet and with a near five per cent market share has nudged bigger and older players to be the third largest in fastest growing Indian aviation market (after IndiGo and Tata Group Airlines in June) and carried 6.2 lakh domestic passengers.
Waiting to welcome the 20th aircraft , a 737- 8-200 (can have up to 200 seats and better economy), mandatory fleet size that allows an airline to fly international in India, Dube talks of what fliers can expect as they fly international on Akasa, how being employee–centric is non-negotiable and why Akasa aspires to be an airline that wants to connect with the vast majority of young Indian fliers (65% are 35 years and younger). These fliers not only look for experiences but have a different and conscientious outlook towards travel that matches Akasa’s corporate philosophy.
In an interview with me, he talks about how Akasa is positioned to be an airline for the generations to fly. Edited Excerpts.
Q:On August 7, Akasa Air, India’s youngest airline will complete a year of commercial operations. The hurrahs and the disappointments.
Ans: Over all extremely pleased. We had set our sights up to delivery of 18 aircraft by March of 2023. We delivered 19. Our 20th aircraft is just around the corner. So I think from where we are now, we would earlier talk in months, then we started talking in weeks, and now we are talking in days before it will be in our possession and hopefully touch the shores of India in the month of July.
And so I’d say very pleased with the fact that we’ve been able to execute a growth that no airline in the 120 year history of Global Aviation has ever done.
More importantly, with this growth, we’re pleased that the sanctity and reliability of the operation has been of the highest standard. So I think in June we closed, may be four consecutive months or three consecutive months of being India’s most on time airline.
Q: You have always spoken about Akasa being an airline not to be typified or boxed into any existing categories, carve out its own positioning, be the best in business. Have you been able to achieve that – with regard to employees and the brand offering?
Ans: We are very pleased with the response we’ve had from an employee perspective. You know, we’ve got 3000 employees and we have ventured to create this employee centric corporate culture. It was very important for us to, as an example, to have gender neutral uniforms where flight attendants were comfortable. We set out on this venture where we create an extremely diverse airline. We set out to create an airline that was very environmentally friendly and probably we are one of the most environmentally friendly airlines in the world.
And it’s not just the fact that we have new airplanes which are fuel efficient and new fleet, but our flight attendant uniforms are made out of recycled marine waste. The carpets are made out of recycled fishing nets, the fabric used for the seats and the packaging all contribute.
I would say if you want me to reflect back on the last year, it’s just with pride as we reflect back in terms of what this team has been able to accomplish. I say team because genuinely we’ve got an amazing bunch of people that have decided to come together to put this airline and take this forward and I couldn’t be prouder.
Q: But there were hiccups- The USB port issue? The fliers expected them to be there on each Akasa plane/seat? That was something they were looking forward to and supply side issue or vendor issues is not something they understand. What do you have to say to that?
Ans: So Manisha, first thing I’d say is we don’t want at this point in time, people coming into Akasa expecting a USB port. We’ve not advertised it that way.
Q: Ok. But somehow it got conveyed that way…
Ans: To be honest, if you go back and look at what we have said, we have been very forthright in saying that we don’t have USB ports on every aircraft and we will not have that for some period of time. We are on a route to having that. But as of today, we don’t.
And the reason as of today, we don’t is because you know of supply chain constraints where we haven’t been able to source these USB ports to put that’s also the reason why today you see some Akasa aircraft with larger seats up front. So we hope we’ve been extremely transparent in any conversation that we have in any opportunity that we have.
I don’t believe you are going to see or you can go back and look at the last six months to see if you can find one advertisement from Akasa that says we have USB port in every seat. That’s not our style.That’s not our value system, and that’s not the expectations we want to set.
So my view is it shouldn’t be seen as something to rectify. It should be seen as something to expect in the future. On newer aircraft that will start coming and delivering from next year onwards, we’ll have larger overhead bins that which would make it easier for our travellers. We think we’ve actually sort of changed what Flyers should expect on board a flight in India. We expect to deliver reliability of operation, on time performance, our pet policy those are the things that we advertise. Those are the things that we push. USB is not one of them. Not today. At some point , once we have consistently, then we will go and talk about it.
Q: You have a 76 aircraft order with Boeing for the 737MAX. You see an impact on Akasa’s expansion plan due to persistent issues with the aircraft?
Ans: Manisha, you know we said we’d get 18 aircraft, we got 19. We said we’d get our 20th aircraft. Now we’re getting our 20th aircraft. We said by the end of fiscal year we’ll have about 26 or 27 aircraft. That’s still on track. We said we’re gonna deliver, you know, 12 to 15 aircraft every year beyond that, that’s still on track. So I can tell you that we don’t see an impact at a Akasa
Q: Also, when do you expect the 737 – 8-200 hundred to be there in your fleet?
Ans: Well, if you stay tuned within 12 days, we should welcome the first 737 – 8- 200 into India.
Q: A section of crew that I spoke to – both cockpit as well as the cabin felt they are overworked and fatigued. Also there is a view that Vinay has always spoken about work-life-balance but somewhere down the line that ideal is not getting conveyed. Your comment?
Ans: So first, obviously I cannot address anything that’s hearsay of you spoke to somebody and somebody told you something. That’s not the way either me or anybody else would really operate and be able to address.
Let me try and address this question a completely different way. We are an airline that delivers 20 aircraft within 12 months from the start of commercial operation, which no other airline in the 120 year history of Aviation has been able to accomplish. In fact, we don’t believe anyone has been able to accomplish it, right? So when you talk about us delivering that, I can assure you that doesn’t happen because you got one Vinay Dube or, you know, two Vinay Dubes or a management team.
That happens because you’ve got execution excellence across the entire airline. This is not the type of industry that works because one person does something, or someone else does something. This works because you’ve got, you know, a vision that’s being translated down the line at a very, very detailed level. Think about the kind of planning it takes to hire 3000 people in this period of time to train them and get them up and running on the line.
So, to your question of, you know, a middle management, I’d say we’ve exceptional middle management, we got exceptional senior management, we’ve got exceptional junior management and we’ve got exceptional employees as a whole, pilots, flight attendants. So that’s the way I would address your question that I couldn’t be prouder that is an airline as a unit. We have been able to achieve what no one has been able to by a long margin.
And if any employee group has any issues they are welcome to raise it . And when they raise it, we will address it. Employee centricity is an absolute pillar. it is non-negotiable. And work life balance is the foundation of the airline on which the airline was built. Absolutely no question of wavering an iota from that.
Q: And so Akasa has no manpower issues that will impact expansion more so when the 737- 8-200 joins the fleet which requires more number of crew ?
Ans: We’re planning for multiple years from now. Literally a decade from now is what our planning is. And part of that planning entails the fact that there are going to be ups and downs. You have to plan for that. And so we have plenty of crew, you don’t have to take my word for it. You should go back and listen to what I said one year ago in terms of how many aircraft will be flying, when, and then you should match it to the number of aircraft we’re actually flying. And obviously, if we had a constraint, we won’t be able to do that.
Let me be unequivocal to say that we don’t have constraints, you know, in terms of flying our aircraft and we’re very much on track with our plan.
Q: As network development strategy are you moving away from the initially stated policy of connecting Tier2 to metros to more of metro-to-metro connectivity?
Ans : So let me go back and reiterate what we said in terms of our network development, we said always that we were focused on building a network that served the metros and Tier 2 cities, right? We also said in the same breath that this inevitably will mean some amount of metro to metro flight. You can’t create this network that doesn’t connect to metros because because of the technicality of the rotation of the aircraft, right?
So for example, we’ve increased our frequencies from one to three on Mumbai – Delhi.
So someone may say you’re in this metro to metro market, but look at what we’ve done from Mumbai to Guwhati, Mumbai to a Bagdogra, we have added Mumbai to Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Varansi we have added one more frequency.
So you know, one shouldn’t just say how they’ve gone from one to three on Mumbai – Delhi. One has to look at every aspect of the network and as you look at every aspect of the network, we very much on the lines of what we said earlier which is that connectivity between Tier 2 cities inevitably will be executed through some amount of metro to metro flying as well.
Q: What does the international expansion plan look like? Year end launch on track?
Ans: We are, we are. Our 20th aircraft will be here.That’s the magic number.By the end of the year we get 21 and 22 onwards as well. Very exciting. And then you know, some of the discussions that require the 20th aircraft to be here will start in earnest, but we’re on track.
Q: So these will be the obvious single aisle routes?
Ans: That’s right. Unfortunately I don’t have anything less obvious for you.
And it’s not because we are being coy or anything . The fact is, until we have our 20th aircraft here, which is a matter of few days, we can’t have a serious and engaging conversation with the ministry in terms of what traffic rights are available, what traffic rights are not available. That’s the first step. Then once we get the availability of traffic rights, then we got to make sure we have got slots at the other end.
So that process is unfolding and until that process unfolds, it’s very difficult to say which is gonna be the first destination, which is why we have to stick to this generality for the moment.
Middle East, Southeast Asia, you know, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, these are some of the obvious choices that an airline like us would love to partake.
On the one hand, they’re also super exciting, right?
Imagine for us. Imagine Akasa plane landing in Southeast Asia, with our seats and our livery, while the destination might be obvious, but that’s very, very exciting for us.
Q: What can passengers expect when they fly Akasa on international routes?
Ans: Akasa experience should be as good, if not better than any airline, period. Which means our seats will be more comfortable with more leg room, when we have the consistency of the USB port, when we have the consistency of the device holder, we will mention that it’s not too far away. And so that’s something that people can look forward to, then brand new aircraft, the best leg room, a pre order menu that is extensive, so great food. Flight attendants that I think are getting known for their warmth and their hospitality. We are sort of a category defining airline because on the one side we have extremely affordable fares but the other side, we want our experience to be compared with the best airlines that are known for the best experience.
We know exactly who we had to compete with domestically and internationally, we had our business plan three years into making before the launch..
Q: When you fly international you will be pitted against fiercely competitive airlines with regard to fares they offer or some have top of the line products. So it might appear as a silly question but I need to ask you – where will you compete- on fares or on the product?
Ans: You’ll answer that question for me because I think we need to compete with not just those two, but a lot more, right? I mean, if I told you great experience, but you have to pay a gazillion rupees for it, you’d say forget that. If I told you $2.00 but we are going to beat you up every step of the way, you’ll say forget that as well.
So I think the consumers around the world want a balance of many things. They want the affordability of the fares, but they also want extremely good experience.
And that’s the reason why we are emphasizing the fact that we are a category defining airline and we have consciously spent money on things that really matter to the consumers.
But let me add another dimension.
You know, India has got demographic that is, you know some 65% are 35 years or younger.
For them, it’s not just the fare and the experience but they have got a different level of consciousness.
Q: When you say different level of consciousness what do you mean? And how does that matter to an airline?
Ans: Like my children. They tell me, ‘Dad, we got to go to that restaurant called ‘Ishara’ ( Palladium Mall, Mumbai, where the servers are hearing impaired and sign language is used to convey the order) and we patronise those kind of restaurants because the children want to.
And so there are multiple dimensions that go beyond just fare and service. It’s the consciousness of the airline. It’s our focus on the environment that we think will also pull people into a Akasa.
And by the way, different consumers think differently, right?
Not everyone has the means, you know, to go to an Ishara to patronize a restaurant with that kind of ethos.
And so some people will be a little bit, you know, choosing us based on the affordability of fares. Some people will love our experience. Some people will love our consciousness. Some people will love all three aspects of it, but just to tell you that this is where our focus is at.
Q: So then you would be that elusive magic airline?
Ans: Manisha, when your son was little, you told him to believe in good human beings, trust people, always think the best of them, believe that people can do good and make money.
Don’t choose between the two. Always be honest because it pays off. So we believe that.
Q: Are you well funded- for expansion, for PDP payments?
Ans: We are absolutely fine. We are a well capitalized airline.
You know, you talked about PDP and growth. We bought 4 aircraft. (At Paris Air Show in June in addition to previous order of 72 Boeing aircraft) It was something small, but you’re not allowed to do these kinds of things if you aren’t well positioned. So I’d say we are absolutely fine, no issues there.
Q: What is the mix of the three digit aircraft order that you said Akasa will be announcing by the end of the year?
Ans: If I were to say we are going to do this or buy that, then we would be weakening our negotiating position. So I would say you have to stay tuned. It’s not that far.
ENDS
Planes. Talks. Travels. 