Akasa Air unveils crew uniform ahead of launch

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Akasa Air on Monday unveiled the first look of its airline crew uniform as it gears up for its commercial launch by the end of July.

The trouser and jacket fabric of the uniform has been made using recycled polyester fabric, which is made from pet bottle plastic salvaged from marine waste, the carrier says in a statement.

Akasa Air has also introduced sneakers for its cabin crew, which caught the attention of Jet Airways chief executive Sanjiv Kapoor. "Reminds me of the casual jeans and kurtis weekend uniform we had introduced at SpiceJet in 2014. Casual and fun works well for LCCs. Good an Indian LCC will have it now," Kapoor tweets.

"Employee centricity and sustainability are going to be at the core of everything that we do at Akasa Air. We have designed a uniform in which our team feels both proud and comfortable as they direct their energy to ensure a warm, friendly, and efficient flying experience for all our passengers," says Belson Coutinho, co-founder and chief marketing and experience officer, Akasa Air.

This comes days after Akasa Air received the delivery of its first Boeing 737 max aircraft in India on June 21. Akasa Air is scheduled to receive 18 aircraft from Boeing by March 2023, followed by delivery of the remaining 54 aircraft over the course of next four years. The airline intends to operate a fleet of 72 Boeing 737 MAX airplanes.

The airline will be conducting its proving flights in the first week of July to obtain the Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) required for its commercial launch.

This comes at a time when India's aviation market is finally witnessing a good recovery following a long slump because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

India's domestic air passenger traffic stood at 1.14 crore in May 2022, around 7% lower compared to 1.22 crore in May 2019, according to rating agency ICRA.

ICRA continues to maintain a "negative" outlook on the Indian aviation industry, reflecting its view that the financial performance of Indian airlines is likely to remain under pressure in the near term, even as recovery in domestic passenger traffic has been healthy.

"A return to normalcy will lead to recovery in passenger load factors, which in turn will aid revenues; however, elevated ATF prices will continue to weigh on the earnings of Indian carriers in FY2023," says ICRA.

The rating agency expects the recovery in domestic passenger traffic to be fast paced in FY23 driven by normalcy witnessed in domestic operations.