NEW DELHI : After a mixed performance in the March quarter when air traffic rebounded from a pandemic-scarred January, the emergence of two airlines, Akasa Air and Jet Airways (India) Ltd, is set to intensify competition in India’s largely loss-making sector that was looking to emerge stronger in the first quarter of the new fiscal year.
Billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Akasa Air plans to launch its first commercial flight around June, co-founder and chief executive Vinay Dube said at an industry event last month.
Meanwhile, Jet Airways, under the new ownership of the Jalan-Kalrock consortium, is hoping to restore the grounded airline’s air operator certificate (AOC) within two months, media reports said.
Revalidating Jet’s AOC will allow the airline resume commercial flights, nearly three years after it was grounded due to a severe cash crunch.