Akasa Air resumes pilot hiring after 18-month pause as fleet expansion restarts

Budget carrier Akasa Air has resumed pilot hiring after an 18-month pause as it prepares to add more aircraft to its fleet, founder and chief executive Vinay Dube said on Wednesday.

Mumbai-headquartered Akasa paused pilot hiring in June 2024 due to delays in aircraft deliveries from Boeing. With the US plane maker now expected to adhere to its revised delivery timelines, the airline has begun recruiting pilots again.

“We stopped hiring pilots because the delivery time slipped,” Dube told reporters at the Wings India 2026 event at Begumpet airport in Hyderabad. “We restarted hiring pilots in November-December and we'll continue hiring.”

Akasa currently employs 757 pilots, according to the airline.

Akasa’s move is significant as it becomes the third airline, after IndiGo and Air India, to restart pilot hiring, highlighting how crew availability is emerging as a key constraint for airline growth under tighter duty-time rules. With capacity additions now dependent as much on staffing as aircraft deliveries, pilot hiring has become central to execution across the aviation sector.

Akasa’s fleet comprises 32 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, including its 32nd plane that is expected to join the fleet from the US on Thursday. Two more aircraft will be inducted next month, taking the fleet size to 34 by the end of February, Dube said.

Unlike most Indian carriers, Akasa operates an all-Boeing fleet, while rivals such as IndiGo and Air India Group fly a mix of Airbus and Boeing aircraft.

“As long as the norm is the norm and as long as the CAR is the CAR, we will adhere to it 100% as we have now and there are no violations,” Dube said.

Civil Aviation Requirements (CARs), issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), are mandatory and legally binding guidelines aimed at ensuring safety and operational efficiency.

The regulatory changes drew attention after IndiGo faced significant operational disruption in December, when flight delays and cancellations were linked to crew availability constraints amid the rollout of revised duty hour rules. The episode highlighted the pressure the new regulations have placed on airline staffing models, forcing carriers to recalibrate pilot rosters and accelerate hiring to remain compliant while maintaining flight schedules.

Three years after launching operations, Akasa has overtaken SpiceJet to become India’s third-largest airline by revenue in the April–June quarter of last year, Mint reported on 7 September 2025.

The airline held a 4.7% share of the domestic market in November, compared with SpiceJet’s 3.7%, according to DGCA data. IndiGo and the Tata-backed Air India Group together control a little over 90% of the domestic aviation market.

“We're in a very nascent and early stage of Indian aviation. Growth is an important element in creating a large and more mature aviation ecosystem,” he said.

“We need financing from Indian banks and Indian financial institutions. Today, the bulk of aircraft are financed through foreign lessors and foreign financial institutions,” Dube added, saying he would like to see Indian lenders financing the bulk of aircraft acquisitions.

Akasa Air is operated by SNV Aviation Pvt. Ltd and is backed by the family of late investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, along with Bengaluru-based billionaires Azim Premji and Ranjan Pai. Dube holds a 16.1% stake in the airline.