
Vinay Dube on Akasa Air's Rise in India's Duopoly
In this episode, Akasa Air's Founder and CEO, Vinay Dube, joins us to explore the journey of India's three-year-old airline in a duopoly of IndiGo and Air India. Dube expresses confidence in the airline's partnership with Boeing amidst delays in aircraft deliveries that were down to a trickle last year and discusses plans for expansion in Southeast Asia. He also shares practical tips for flight bookings and reveals his mantra for remaining grounded amid aviation industry's many challenges
Boarding Now is a podcast where we look at key aviation developments through an India lens. We will also feature special interviews and cut through the jargon and hype to keep it real. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy every episode.
Host: Jagriti Chandra
Edited by Jude Francis Weston
For more episodes of Boarding Now:

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)

Business Standard
37 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Making more noise does not make you right on bilateral rights: IndiGo CEO
A day after Emirates President Tim Clark said that restricting air access for foreign airlines by not increasing bilateral rights was akin to 'shooting yourself in the foot,' IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers pushed back, emphasising that bilateral air service agreements are meant to be mutually beneficial — and that making "more noise" doesn't make one more right. 'First of all, it's called a bilateral agreement, right? That means two sides have to agree on something. If one side makes more and more noise, it doesn't mean you're more and more right,' Elbers said during a press conference at the annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Monday. 'It's not that if one side says, 'Now we do it' — that's not how it works,' he added, in what appeared to be a direct response to Clark's strongly worded remarks made a day earlier. Without naming any specific country or region, Elbers noted that there have historically been several international markets where foreign airlines fully utilised their entitlements to fly into India, while Indian carriers did not. 'There were a massive number of flights into India and no operations by Indian operators. So, for a government to say, 'First let's use the existing pool of traffic rights, and then look at new ones,' I think that's a completely fair and balanced approach,' he said. His comments come amid ongoing demands from Gulf carriers like Emirates and Qatar Airways for increased flying rights to and from India. The UAE has been urging India to revise the 2014 bilateral agreement, which caps seat entitlements at 66,504 per week for each side. Emirates has already exhausted its allocation and has repeatedly voiced frustration over not being allowed to add more flights. India, however, has been reluctant to expand these rights, as Middle Eastern hubs like Dubai and Doha primarily channel Indian traffic onward to North America and Europe. At the same time, Indian carriers are steadily inducting wide-body aircraft and ramping up their own non-stop flight operations to long-haul destinations. Elbers pointed out that India has revised bilateral agreements with several countries in recent times. 'I think the Government of India has stepped forward and made a couple of new air service agreements with different countries in different parts of the world,' he said, pushing back on the perception that India has been inflexible. IATA Director General Willie Walsh, meanwmeanwhile, said on Monday that this challenge over flying rights is not unique to India. He acknowledged the country's rapid growth in domestic aviation and noted that India's fleet of wide-body aircraft — previously fewer than 50 — is finally expanding. 'As we see the expansion of Indian carriers into new markets, there will have to be a corresponding change to the approach for access,' Walsh said. Over the past two years, India has actively expanded its international aviation network by signing or updating bilateral air service agreements with several countries. In February 2023, India increased capacity entitlements for Russian carriers, allowing them to operate up to 64 weekly flights and removing route restrictions. In April 2023, an air services agreement was signed with Guyana to facilitate direct connectivity. In May 2023, India and South Korea agreed to allow non-scheduled all-cargo operations with flexible freedom rights on agreed routes. In May 2024, India and the UK expanded their bilateral air service agreement, increasing weekly flights between London and Indian cities from 56 to 70 to meet rising travel demand. On Sunday, Emirates President Tim Clark said India's stance on air access could hurt its own economic interests. 'Not to do that (increase bilateral rights) will only have you shoot yourself in the foot in the end,' Clark said, while also acknowledging that India may have strategic reasons for its current policy. Air India CEO Campbell Wilson had last year said that granting more rights to countries like the UAE would be like 'pulling the rug out' from under Indian airlines, which have placed orders for over 1,000 new aircraft.


NDTV
44 minutes ago
- NDTV
India's Aviation Sector Rises To Third Spot Globally, Creates 7.7 Million Jobs
New Delhi: India's aviation industry has expanded at a rapid pace to become the world's third-largest aviation market in terms of passenger traffic, according to a report compiled by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). IATA's country director for India, Nepal and Bhutan, Amitabh Khosla, said India's rise to the third rank in the global market comes on the back of stronger airlines, growth of connectivity, and increased airport infrastructure. He described the aviation industry as a key driver of employment, economic activity, international trade and investment in the country. India's aviation now accounts for 1.5 per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and has created approximately 7.7 million jobs, both directly and indirectly, across the country, the report states. Mr Khosla said, 'In 2023, the industry made a $53.6 billion contribution to India's economy, underpinning 7.7 million jobs in the country.' Tourism, supported by aviation, contributes Rs 2,710 crore to the GDP. International tourists add another $29.4 billion annually to the economy through local purchases of goods and services. 'Overall the travel and tourism sector accounts for 6.5 per cent of the nation's GDP and 8.9 per cent of total employment in 2023,' he added. The Middle East remained the top international destination for Indian flyers in 2023, with 13.7 million passengers, followed by the Asia Pacific region and Europe. To meet growing demand, airlines have ramped up flight frequencies and seat capacities. Scheduled flights increased by 77.7 per cent to around 1.3 million in 2024. Most of these were domestic, flights with increased from 613,000 flights in 2014 to nearly 1.1 million in 2024. Indigo led this expansion, operating 53 per cent of all departing flights from and within India. Consumers have also benefited from increased competition, which led to a 25 per cent reduction in real airfares in 2023 compared to 2011, Mr Khosla noted. Currently, India has 116 airports offering commercial scheduled services, with 96 of them providing direct connections and 521 outbound international flights each day. Over the last five years, 103 new international routes have been introduced. There are currently 99 operational airlines in the country. India has also established itself as the sixth-largest air cargo market in the world, transporting 3.3 million tonnes of air freight in 2023. As of December 2024, the international sector stood nearly 20 per cent above its 2019 levels, while domestic operations were over 8 per cent higher which reflects the strong outlook for the future, he added. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)


NDTV
2 hours ago
- NDTV
India Lures Foreign Investors Back With Big Ticket Block Trades
Sydney: Foreign investors are starting to head back into Indian stocks after a major exodus, attracted by $5.5 billion worth of big ticket block trades in May and lifting hopes of a revival in the nation's equities market. The block trades were well bought by overseas investors, according to bankers. They marked the highest monthly total in almost a year and a huge jump from only $220 million in April. "We actually saw interest coming in from a fairly diverse set of investors who were missing in action in the last six months," said Abhinav Bharti, head of JPMorgan's India equity capital market business. "They had gone out of India, said India is just too expensive, we don't want to buy anything right now. I think we could start seeing them coming back." Block trades often precede a recovery in IPOs and May's robust offerings come amid a strong performance for Indian stocks. The Nifty 50 index has climbed risen 6% since early April when US President Donald Trump announced his sweeping tariffs which were then paused for 90 days, with India emerging as an investor safe haven due to better-than-feared duties. Foreigners have since bought about $3 billion worth of Indian stocks in April and May combined, data shows. That comes after they pulled nearly $29 billion out of Indian stocks between October and March which followed record highs for the country's benchmark indices in September. Gary Tan, a portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments in Singapore, said the recent inflows into India reflect a resurgence of interest in emerging market equities. "We've selectively added to India on pullbacks but remain underweight," said Tan, citing high valuation in some sectors. Banking, telecommunications and diversified conglomerates were his most favoured sectors, he added. The $5.5 billion in block trades in May, according to LSEG data, included the sale of a British American Tobacco $1.51 billion stake in ITC, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters showed. IndiGo co-founder Rakesh Gangwal also offloaded a 5.7% stake in the low-cost carrier through a block deal worth about $1.36 billion, while Singtel sold $1.5 billion of Bharti Airtel shares. Both the ITC and IndiGo trades were increased in size after strong demand from investors, bankers said. It was the busiest May on record for block trades in the country, the data showed. "We're seeing high-quality global long-only accounts coming in with conviction," said Sunil Khaitan, a managing director at Goldman Sachs in India. "Some are still waiting for levels to normalize, but 90% to 95% of the foreign liquidity coming back into the market is from deeply embedded India investors, those who understand the market and have been waiting for the right window to reengage." Citigroup's head of India ECM Arvind Vashistha said the country's better economic performance, tax cuts and interest rate reductions had helped sentiment towards India's equity markets improve. "The economy is in good shape, valuations have become more reasonable, which is encouraging healthy market activity. Investors are telling us that these are the companies we find interesting and if there's a supplier, we'd love to buy it," he said.