Stock options for staff, 'happy homes': Akasa airline makes flight plan

Akasa has hired around 50 employees for back office functions and is now recruiting pilots, flight attendants and airport staff.

Akasa, a new Indian airline backed by billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, plans to offer stock options to attract staff, using a lure more often deployed by technology startups in its bid to gain a foothold in one of the world’s most competitive air-travel markets.

The carrier, which is preparing to start flying in late May, is taking the unusual approach of granting company shares to a bigger pool of top employees, rather than a select group of senior executives, as the aviation industry globally suffers from a talent shortfall. Airlines have retrenched thousands of workers because of the pandemic and many