Meet the key faces behind Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s new airline venture

Aviation veteran and former president of IndiGo Aditya Ghosh will assist ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala to launch an ultra-low-cost airline. The development comes after Rakesh Jhunjhunwala said he plans to start an airline with a fleet of 70 aircraft within the next four years.

Billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala is planning to launch Akasa Air along with former Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dube. Reports suggest that the airline will be modelled similar to Irish ultra-low-cost Ryanair. It may be noted that it is one of the most successful and aggressive low-cost carriers in the world.

Aditya Ghosh had joined IndiGo in 2008 and was a driving force behind the low-cost airline’s rise till he quit in 2018. Ghosh oversaw IndiGo’s rise from a fledging airline to one of the biggest carriers by market share with a fleet of 160 planes.

The aviation veteran will own less than 10 per cent of the airline and will be Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s nominee to the board, reported The Economic Times after speaking to people familiar with the development.

While Ghosh will not be a part of the management, Akasa Air will be one of his key projects from now.

Praveen Iyer, who has held several positions at Jet Airways, is likely to be appointed as the chief commercial officer of Akasa Air. Meanwhile, the former VP for revenue management at GoAir, Anand Srinivasan, is likely to be the new airline venture’s CTO.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala is likely to invest $35 million in the airline venture and is expected to own a 40 per cent stake in the airline. The mind behind the venture, Vinay Dube, is likely to hold over 15 per cent.

Boston-based investor Par Capital Management and Airbnb are also investing in the airline, according to the ET report.

RAKESH JHUNJHUNWALA'S BOLD BET

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's plan to start a low-cost airline comes at a time when the aviation sector is going through a period of turmoil due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The 61-year-old ace investor, however, remains bullish on the aviation sector and believes more people will fly in future.

Jhunjhunwala expects to get a no-objection certificate from the aviation ministry in the next two weeks.

“For the culture of a company to be frugal you’ve to start off fresh," Rakesh Jhunjhunwala told Bloomberg Television. “I’m very, very bullish on India’s aviation sector in terms of demand,” he added.