Akasa has 76 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft on order, with the first batch from other customers who have not taken up their aircraft. Akasa expected a rapid induction of the first 20 aircraft, with 18 aircraft joining the fleet by March 2023. This premise was based on two aircraft joining the fleet every month, and all these first 18 aircraft have been picked up by Akasa as other airlines have yet to accept delivery of their aircraft for various reasons (commonly known in the industry as not taken up aircraft).

Akasa Air could not escape the supply chain issues that seem to be derailing the plans of many airlines. Akasa, which started with inducting aircraft after fixing up the seat upholstery to their brand colours and putting in headrests and more comfortable cushions on the seats (and USB ports retrofitted), announced in November 2022 that it was going to induct 11 aircraft with a cabin layout different to their original plans. This LOPA was initially configured with a 174-seat configuration and was destined for Jet Airways (1.0) [with a 12-seat business class cabin] and was handed over to Akasa. Here is a review of the Akasa A++ cabin.

Akasa starts refurbishment of cabin interiors.

As first reported by Hindu Businessline, Akasa Air has now commenced the refurbishment of their cabins, which they will harmonise with the rest of their product, as indicated in the first picture above. VT-YAS is currently in Hyderabad, undergoing cabin rework at GMR’s MRO service. The airline expects to bring all cabins in line with the usual 189-seater configuration by December 2023.

As per CEO Vinay Dube to HBL,

We remain on track. By the end of the year, we hope to have our full set of aircraft in standard configuration. Consumers have definitely appreciated the seats, but we still think the right thing for us to have a standard product across the board.

Bottomline

It was always known that Akasa’s wider seats (A++) were a short-lived product. However, Indian customers love a good value deal and miss it when it’s gone. For now, Akasa Air has started the retrofit process and hopes to convert all eleven aircraft by the end of the year to their standard 189-seater configuration.

Will you miss the A++ cabin once it’s gone?

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