Mumbai headquartered Akasa Air inducted its tenth high density MAX 8-200, which is its 33rd aircraft in the fleet. The airline will launch its thrice weekly service connecting Bagdogra and Dibrugarh starting tomorrow. This will be an extension of Bengaluru – Bagdogra flight offering a one-stop Bengaluru – Dibrugarh connection. Dibrugarh is 26th domestic destination, with the airline having five international destinations [Doha (Qatar), Riyadh and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Abu Dhabi (UAE), and Phuket (Thailand)]. This also is a service resumption
Dibrugarh, widely known as the Tea City of India, is a key economic and cultural centre in Upper Assam and a vital gateway to neighbouring Northeastern states. Strengthened air access to the city will help establish meaningful travel corridors across the region, improve intra-Northeast mobility and support rising demand from both business and leisure travellers.
QP1850 BLR0525 – 0820IXB0855 – 1025DIB
QP1851 DIB1115 – 1245IXB1320 – 1645BLR
Flights operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
The expansion comes amidst the airline taking back-to-back deliveries with the 33rd aircraft on delivery flight. Built to Akasa Air’s purpose-built specifications and equipped with Safran Z200 seats, the newly inducted aircraft reflects the airline’s continued focus on uniformity, passenger comfort, operational efficiency, and sustainability across its growing fleet. The next-generation seating brings enhanced comfort through improved recline, ergonomic back support, plush cushioning, and integrated USB-C and USB-A charging ports, offering a more relaxed and connected flying experience for modern travellers. Akasa Air has placed a firm order for 226 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, with a robust pipeline of 193 additional aircraft scheduled for delivery over the next six years. The MAX -8-200 are configured with 197 seats.
Why Dibrugarh?
Dibrugarh does not make it to the top 25 airports in India by passenger traffic. Why would then Akasa Air launch services to Dibrugarh? The answer lies in the Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDG) which are unique to India. For every capacity deployed on the top metro routes as defined by guidelines, the airlines in India have to deploy 10% of the capacity (by ASK) on Cat 2 routes, along with 1% on Category 2A routes. Bagdogra – Dibrugarh is the longest category 2A route in the country and a thrice a week operation will help the airline add more frequencies on the metro-to-metro routes. As of November, Akasa Air had ample Category 2 ASK’s, while it was at 1.04% on Cat 2A, only 0.4% more than the mandated guidelines. This route allows the airline to add more metro-to-metro frequencies in near term.
Network Thoughts
Akasa Air has expanded rapidly in the most adverse of times. At 33 planes, and 32 destinations, it is fairly stretched to make the most of the consolidation at major stations and benefit from the cost. Over a period of time, it has gained a good hold at Mumbai, which is now its largest station by departures per week followed by Delhi. Slot constraints airports also form a sizable chunk of its network.
Over the next few inductions, I would assume that the airline adds capacity between metros as well as cities where it has less than two flights a day to strengthen the station.
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