Mumbai headquartered low cost carrier Akasa Air has opened sale of flights to Riyadh. Flights to Riyadh start June 15, 2024. This will make Riyadh the second international destination for the airline. In early May, the airline had announced Jeddah as its second international destination with flights starting July 15, 2024.
The airline will launch six weekly services at below times and make the service daily effective July 01, 2024.
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The airline has also announced services to Jeddah with 12 weekly flights from Mumbai and twice weekly from Ahmedabad. Starting 15th July 2024, Akasa Air will operate daily direct flights connecting Jeddah with Mumbai and will further enhance this connectivity to operate 12 direct flights a week effective 21st July 2024. The launch of operations from Mumbai will be followed by the commencement of 2 weekly direct flights connecting Jeddah with Ahmedabad effective 20th July 2024. The airline will deploy the MAX 8 on its route, the only type which it operates.
Traffic
India and Saudi Arabia traffic is a mix of blue collar workers, trade and religion. Saudi Arabia forms 3.9% of total trade with India. India continues to have a trade deficit with Saudi Arabia as it imports fuel from the Arab nation. Cereals and Vehicles are the largest exports from India while the major imports are Fuel and Chemicals.
On the Mumbai – Riyadh sector, the airline will compete with Air India, IndiGo, Flynas and Saudia. On the Mumbai – Jeddah sector, the airline will compete with Air India, Vistara, IndiGo, Flynas and Saudia. On the Ahmedabad – Jeddah sector, IndiGo and Saudia will be its competitors.
King Khalid International Airport Riyadh caters to Riyadh – the capital of Saudi Arabia and the largest city. King Abdulaziz International Airport at Jeddah services Jeddah and Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Jeddah is a port city while Mecca is the holiest city for Muslims around the world.
Network Thoughts
The airline has not inducted an aircraft for four months now. A lot of its plans, which were publicly announced, have changed and one of that is the induction plan. This seems to add another one to the list after announcing the second destination, changing it. At least, the second country remains the same – Saudi Arabia.
The country has been taking giant strides in recent years, having opened up tourism and investing in shedding its erstwhile image with an intention to compete with Dubai and beyond.
The launch comes at a time when Saudia has withdrawn some flights between India and Saudi Arabia as it redeploys the capacity to cater to Haj traffic.
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