Is Rakesh Jhunjhunwala aka India's Warren Buffett planning on launching an airline? Yes, he is. According to a report in Bloomberg, Jhunjhunwala is planning on having 70 aircraft within four years for a new airline he wants to set up in India.
The Big Bull is considering investing $35 million for the venture and would own 40 per cent stake in the airline. Jhunjhunwala told Bloomberg Television in an interview that he expects to get a no-objection certificate from the Ministry of Civil Aviation in the next 15 days.
The ultra-low-cost airline will be called Akasa Air. The team, comprising a former senior executive of Delta Air Lines Inc., is searching for planes that can carry at least 180 passengers, the report said.
According to IBEF's Indian Aviation Industry Report in May 2021, the civil aviation industry in India has emerged as one of the fastest growing industries in the country during the last three years. India has become the third largest domestic aviation market in the world and is expected to overtake UK to become the third largest air passenger market by 2024.