Former IndiGo boss Aditya Ghosh to join hands with Rakesh Jhunjhunwala to fly low-cost airline Akasa Air
Summary
New Delhi: Former IndiGo president and whole-time director Aditya Ghosh will reportedly join hands with billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and aviation veteran Vinay Dube as a co-founder to launch an ultra-low-cost airlineAkasa Air.Jhunjhunwala, who is also known as Indias Warren Buffett, will infuse about $35 million (around Rs 260 crore) and hold about 40 per cent stake in the airline. Plus, there will be other investors on board too, and the ultra-low cost carrier plans to have a fleet of 70 aircraft in four years.Worth mentioning here is that it will be Ghoshs second coming to the aviation industry after he quit InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company of the countrys largest airline IndiGo, in 2018 after a 10-year tenure as its president and whole time director.Ghosh was integral to IndiGos success. Its market cap as of Wednesdays close was Rs 64,168 crore.Citing one of the people familiar with the matter, ET reported that Ghosh will hold less than 10 per cent stake in the ultra-low cost carrier and will be a board member (as Jhunjhunwalas nominee). Further, Dube, former Jet Airways boss, will own over 15 per cent and be its CEO.American investor Par Capital Management which has investments in US-based ultra-low-cost carrier Sun Country Airlines and homestay aggregator Airbnb is also pumping money into Akasa.In an interview with a TV news channel, Jhunjhunwala mentioned that he expects the carrier to get a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the ministry of civil aviation in the next 15 days.The ace investors mega bet comes at a time the aviation industry is adversely impacted by the curbs on travel during the Covid-19 pandemic. Also, even before the pandemic, domestic airline companies left no stone unturned to stay afloat.On Tuesday, IndiGo posted a net loss of Rs 3,174 crore for the quarter ended June 2021, due to a sharp drop in revenues amid the second wave of the pandemic.