Skift Take
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India’s newest airline, Akasa Air, made its international debut in Doha, Qatar in March — just 19 months after its launch.
Akasa has also been granted traffic rights for three other international destinations: Kuwait, Jeddah and Riyadh. And co-founder and chief commercial officer Praveen Iyer told Skift the airline would be rapidly expanding its global footprint.
Since its launch in August 2022, Akasa Air has flown over 8 million passengers connecting 22 cities. The airline had a domestic market share of 4.1% in 2023.
In an interview with Skift, Iyer shared insights into the airline's future plans.
Why Begin in Doha?The decision to debut internationally in Doha, Qatar, was not arbitrary, Iyer said. “We had been granted flying rights to Qatar, a couple of points in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Each of these countries are constrained for capacity, and were therefore interesting markets.”
With a focus on capacity-constrained market