Airbus in talks with Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed airline akasa for an aircraft purchase deal, a top official of the European aircraft manufacturer has said.
Akasa is in discussions with US aircraft maker Boeing to purchase its B737 MAX planes, multiple media reports said two months ago. Airbus’s A320 series aircraft compete with Boeing’s B737 series aircraft in the aviation market.
When asked by Akasa’s Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer if he plans to contest the offer made by Boeing to Akasa, “We are not in the business of contesting the offers, but we are in talks with Akasa.” Of course, we do.”
Akasa is backed by veteran investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and has former IndiGo chairman Aditya Ghosh on its board. It aims to start operations by the summer of 2022 and plans to operate around 70 aircraft over the next four years.
When asked if he could state what stage the talks with Akasa are at, Shire replied: “It’s really private. What I can tell you is when you start an airline in India.” So, what benchmark are you looking at. It’s beautiful obviously, isn’t it? It’s Indigo and to some extent Go First and SpiceJet, but the big man is Indigo.”
Indigo flies the most successful single aisle airplane in the world and it is also the most modern, the A320 and now the A321, he noted.
“Therefore, it is only natural that a new venture in India should look at that benchmark,” he added.
IndiGo – India’s largest carrier with around 50 per cent share in the Indian domestic aviation market – operates only Airbus’ narrow-bodied aircraft. Of all the Indian carriers, only SpiceJet and Air India Express operate Boeing’s narrow-bodied aircraft.
Narrow-bodied aircraft such as the A320 and B737 have a smaller fuel tank and, therefore, can fly for shorter distances.
Speaking to PTI on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association’s 77th Annual General Meeting last week, Sherer said Air India will re-establish itself after its privatization and should consider buying the A350 aircraft.
“We are saying as ‘India’s international flight carrier’, you (Air India) want the best of the best, and that will obviously include A350 aircraft,” he said.
Airbus’s A350 and Boeing’s B777 are wide-bodied aircraft that can fly long distances.
On short range missions, the difference between a good airplane and a bad airplane is smaller than on long-range missions, when we have to fly for between 16 hours and 14 hours, Scherer noted.
“That is where the difference between a very efficient airplane and a less efficient airplane becomes huge. So I am very excited about the potential of the A350 airplane in India because we believe that India needs to acquire a bit of ownership of its international traffic. What is the third largest aviation market in the world,” he said.
He said Airbus would position the A350 as a better alternative to the B777.
“We would be very happy to see Air India strengthen around the A320… But again, I would like to underline the opportunity that Air India really has to adapt to the broader side of the business,” he added.
On 8 October, the Indian government announced that Tata Sons’ wholly owned subsidiary Tales Pvt Ltd had defeated a consortium led by SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh by offering. ₹18,000 crore to win the bid to acquire debt-ridden Air India.
On the question of increasing the number of training centers in India, Sherer said: “We have a training center on the outskirts of Delhi … Of course, as the fleet grows, there is going to be a significant opportunity to develop training centers. For ourselves or in collaboration with our partners and our customers.”
“It is an activity and a business that is going to grow and it should grow in India. Airbus has a huge presence in India,” he said. PTI DSP AIIMS AIIMS
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