 "Akasa Air")
By Siddharth Philip, Julie Johnsson and Danny Lee
India’s Akasa Air is in talks with Boeing Co. to place a small follow-on order for 737 Max single-aisle jets if it can lock down financing, according to people familiar with the matter.
The US planemaker is working to finalize negotiations as soon as this week at the Paris Air Show, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are confidential.
Funding is one obstacle, after the death of Akasa’s billionaire founder and the failure of India’s Go Airlines, they said, adding there’s no certainty an accord will fall into place. If an agreement comes together, Akasa may order 10 or fewer aircraft, one of the people said.
A Boeing representative declined to comment. Akasa wasn’t immediately available for commet.
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Akasa, India’s newest airline, began flying just last year. The carrier has received 20 of the 72 Max jets it’s already ordered. In March, Chief Executive Officer Vinay Dube said the low-cost carrier would place a three-digit order for more aircraft by year-end. Since then, Go Airlines’ insolvency has made aircraft lessors wary of further exposure to the market.
India’s famously cutthroat aviation industry is seeing blockbuster orders from newly-privatized Air India Ltd., and market leader IndiGo is expected to double its jet backlog with a 500-plane order at the show. Akasa’s Founder, billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, died in August, raising questions about the airline’s future funding.
