Khamma Ghani Rajasthan: Akasa Air lands in Jaipur, Udaipur starts next

Akasa Air has finally arrived in the Land of Kings. On 11 October 2026, flight QP 1530 pushed back from Jaipur International Airport at 1130 hrs for Bengaluru, making Jaipur the airline’s first operational station in Rajasthan. Announced in July as Akasa’s 29th domestic destination, Jaipur now has daily nonstop flights to Mumbai and Bengaluru. Udaipur follows on 15 October 2026 with the same two metros, giving the airline two Rajasthani cities within five days.

The launch was marked in the traditional way, with a ceremonial lamp lit at Jaipur airport in the presence of Anand Srinivasan, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Akasa Air, and the airport’s leadership. The first passenger on the inaugural flight received a special boarding pass. Srinivasan described Rajasthan as a natural extension of the airline’s network strategy, calling Jaipur a mature and diversified travel market and pointing to Udaipur’s strength in leisure and hospitality travel.

Interestingly, Udaipur was announced first, on 25 June 2026, while Jaipur came a month later on 22 July. Yet it is Jaipur that opened the account. Between them, the two cities add eight daily flights to the network, which on a 189-seat Boeing 737 MAX works out to roughly 1,500 seats a day across the four routes. The airline also operates the 737-8-200 with 197 seats on offer.

The schedule is as follows:

Four years to Rajasthan

Akasa Air took to the skies on 7 August 2022 with a Mumbai to Ahmedabad flight, backed by the late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and led by Vinay Dube. The early network focused on connecting metros with large tier-2 cities across the south, east and north, and in March 2024 the airline went international with Mumbai to Doha.

The slow pace was not by choice. Akasa’s growth has been tied to Boeing’s delivery schedule, and the delays in 737 MAX production through 2024 held back fleet induction. Today Akasa operates 43 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft against a firm order of 226, and every new station has had to compete for a limited number of airframes.

Rajasthan itself has seen its aviation landscape change in recent years. Jaipur airport was handed over to Adani Airport Holdings in October 2021 under a 50-year lease and remains the busiest airport in the state. Udaipur’s Maharana Pratap Airport at Dabok continues under the Airports Authority of India. Both markets have long been dominated by IndiGo, with the Air India group and SpiceJet as the other notable players, while airports like Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Bikaner see far thinner, often seasonal, services.

Also Read: Akasa Air’s menu revamp

Network Thoughts

From a Network Planning perspective, starting flights to Rajasthan before the winter sets in is putting the perfect foot forward. Rajasthan is traditionally a winter destination with seasonal operations to Jaisalmer by IndiGo while the others are maintained year round albeit with varied capacity by the market leader. Making inroads when the market is at its peak helps establish quicker and avoid cut throat fare war, which is what Akasa Air seems to have done with an entry in October. However, the presence is token, especially from Mumbai. To Jaipur, Akasa Air is one of the eight flights in a market which is dominated by Air India group, a rarity in Indian skies. More flights start in winter schedule.

The current timings are timed around the tourist traffic with aligned to hotel check-in and check-out timings. Both Jaipur and Udaipur are also wedding and MICE destinations. For now, the schedule is built for people coming into Rajasthan rather than for those flying out of it. Competition will be the real test. IndiGo has multiple daily frequencies on both the Jaipur and Udaipur routes to Mumbai and Bengaluru, and a single daily flight will not win over corporate accounts. Where Akasa can score is with the planned traveller: families and couples who book weeks ahead and compare fares, timings and the overall experience, including Café Akasa and its pet-friendly cabin policy.

Entering two Rajasthani cities at once, instead of one, is the smarter play. A single station in a new state rarely gets noticed by travel agents, wedding planners or tour operators. Two stations, each connected to the country’s financial capital and its technology capital, give Akasa a proper Rajasthan story to sell. Jaipur brings volume and a mix of business, education and tourism, while Udaipur brings premium leisure yields. The Bengaluru links are the more interesting bet, tapping a high-spending tech workforce that increasingly travels for short holidays and weddings.

The next step should be depth rather than more dots on the map. An evening rotation into Jaipur would open the door to business traffic and corporate contracts that the current midday timings cannot capture. Beyond that, seasonal flying to Jodhpur or Jaisalmer during the winter months would complete a heritage circuit that pairs naturally with Jaipur and Udaipur, which probably is for next winter.

For now, Akasa has picked the right season, the right cities and the right metros to link them with. Whether the sunrise orange becomes a regular sight over the Aravallis, or remains a once-a-day visitor, will depend on how the traveller responds this winter. Khamma Ghani, Akasa. Padharo mhare des. Will you be flying Akasa to Jaipur or Udaipur this season?

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