Akasa Air grounds hundreds of pilots while awaiting Boeing MAX deliveries
The Indian low-cost-carrier Akasa Air has grounded hundreds of pilots after the number of Boeing 737 MAX deliveries slowed in 2024.
According to the publication The Hindu, around 400 individuals out of 850 pilots are currently grounded, with only 60% currently needed to fly its fleet of 26 aircraft.
The Hindu reported that post-joining training had already been extended by six months from a year, and there are concerns among recruits that this will be stretched further still.
“Despite the changes in the aircraft delivery schedules, more than 60% of our pilots have begun to accumulate flying hours,” a spokesperson for Akasa Air told The Hindu.
Insiders have said that the grounded pilots are receiving 50% of the income while not flying.
According to ch-aviation, Akasa Air is currently awaiting 101 Boeing 737-8-800 aircraft and 99 of the yet to be certified 737 MAX 10.
Its current fleet is composed of 23 Boeing 737 MAX 8s and three 737-8-800s.
During the third day of Dubai Airshow 2021, Akasa Air placed an order for 72 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and the first was delivered on June 16, 2022.
Akasa Air co-founder and CEO Vinay Dube had initially scheduled to receive 72 aircraft by the fifth year of flying after its first commercial flight in August 2022.
At the start of 2024 Akasa had received 22 MAX aircraft but deliveries slowed during the year with only three arriving.
Akasa Air also placed an order for 150 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft at the Wings India event in January 2024.
According to The Hindu, Akasa will end the financial year with 15 fewer deliveries than the airline planned for, after expecting 42 aircraft at that stage.
Boeing deliveries plummeted in 2024, after a door plug separated from an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 9 on January 5, 2024.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) placed restrictions on how many MAX jets Boeing could produce each month and the US planemaker had to reevaluate its approach to quality and safety.
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The post Akasa Air grounds hundreds of pilots while awaiting Boeing MAX deliveries appeared first on AeroTime.
The Indian low-cost-carrier Akasa Air has grounded hundreds of pilots after the number of Boeing 737 MAX deliveries…
The post Akasa Air grounds hundreds of pilots while awaiting Boeing MAX deliveries appeared first on AeroTime.
