India's newest airline Akasa may take off before Jet 2.0

India's newest airline Akasa, majority owned by billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, may get its air operator's permit (AOP) as early as April, a top government official said on condition of anonymity.

But defunct airline Jet Airways is unlikely to get its AOP - dormant now - within the next six months, the official added. Jet, in bankruptcy court since 2019, got new owners, the Jalan-Kalrock Consortium, last year.

Akasa, registered as SNV Aviation, received its initial regulatory approval, the no-objection certificate on October 11 and has applied for the AOP.
The airline, founded by Jet Airways' former chief executive Vinay Dube, has also placed an order for 72 Boeing 737 Max planes. It subsequently ordered CFM engines to power the aircraft.

Aditya Ghosh, IndiGo Airline's former president, is Akasa's co-founder.

Jet Airways' flying licence, or AOP, was made dormant months after it stopped flying in April 2019. The airline's new owners will have to re-apply to get it activated.

They have not done it yet, the official said.

"We had called them once to submit their business plan. They never came for the meeting. I believe the plans are stuck internally," the official added.

Akasa's AOP application is "in process", a senior executive at the airline said, without elaborating.

A spokesperson for Jet Airways did not respond to queries until press time Sunday.

In September, the new owners of Jet - a consortium of London's Kalrock Capital and Dubai-based Indian businessman Murari Lal Jalan - deferred commencement of operations of the bankrupt airline for the fourth time in a year. In a statement, they said the airline aims to start operations between January and March.