Summary
- Akasa Air inaugurates its Mumbai to Doha route with 4 weekly flights.
- An all-female crew operated the carrier’s first-ever international flight.
- Akasa Air was also granted rights to launch flights to Kuwait, Jeddah, and Riyadh.
Indian carrier Akasa Air has launched its first international route with a service between Mumbai and Doha. The airline announced the brand new route last month and can operate 4 weekly flights with its 737 MAX fleet.
Akasa Air inaugurates Doha route
The inaugural flight departed Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM) at 17:45 IST on March twenty eighth, touching down at Hamad International Airport (DOH) at 19:40 AST. The flight was seen off with a lamp-lighting ceremony in Mumbai attended by a delegation of Asaka and BOM executives and was met by dignitaries in Doha, including the Indian and Qatari ambassadors, in addition to representatives from Hamad Airport and Akasa.
Photo: Akasa Air
Neelu Khatri, co-founder and Senior Vice-President, International at Akasa Air, commented,
The flight was operated by an all-female crew of two pilots and five cabin crew. The complete schedule, with flights operating on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, is as follows:
Flight |
Departs |
Arrives |
QP70 – Mumbai to Doha |
17:45 |
19:40 |
QP71 – Doha to Mumbai |
20:40 |
02:45 (+1) |
Photo: Akasa Air
The airline adds that, with these convenient timings, Akasa passengers will give you the chance to connect with its extensive domestic network in Mumbai with ease.
Photo: Akasa Air
As per Cirium data for April 2024, Akasa can be directly competing with 4 other airlines on this route – Air India, IndiGo, Qatar Airways and Vistara. IndiGo, India’s largest airline, currently offers probably the most capability with two every day flights with its A320neo and A321neo fleet, followed by Air India, which can operate nine weekly flights with its A320neos.
Qatar Airways operates fewer flights than Air India at seven per week but utilizes its higher-capacity A350 and Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to supply over 4,700 seats, while Vistara offers 4 weekly flights with its A320 fleet. In total, there can be 38 weekly roundtrips operated by all five carriers, amounting to over 16,000 weekly seats.
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia rights
The airline has been granted the obligatory permissions to launch flights to a few additional international destinations within the Middle East – Kuwait, Jeddah and Riyadh. In a press release, Akasa added that its network can be rapidly expanding in the approaching months.
![An Akasa Air Boeing 737 MAX render.](https://static1.simpleflyingimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/aircraft-akasa-air-2.jpg)
Akasa Air Publicizes Doha As First International Destination Just 19 Months After Launch
The Indian carrier’s international expansion comes faster than any airline within the country’s history.
Lower than two years in
The carrier’s first international route comes lower than 20 months after it launched operations in August 2022. Since launching, Akasa has served almost 8 million passengers and now boasts a network of over 20 destinations.
Photo: Akasa Air
It now has a fleet of 24 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and can receive almost 200 more airframes – having recently placed a significant order for 150 MAX aircraft, adding to its existing orderbook.
Have you ever ever flown with Akasa Air? Where do you think that the airline should begin flying to next? Tell us within the comment section!