Akasa Air (QP, Mumbai International) does not expect to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) before 2027, with the carrier’s chief executive Vinay Dube telling the Press Trust of India news agency on October 22 that a listing on stock exchanges by the end of the decade is “a much more realistic goal”.

“I don’t think 2027 will be possible for a listing, but a listing is something we definitely want to do,” he said. “We may have to gather a little more history before we can list. Certainly, a listing or an IPO is something that we would desire.”

Earlier this year, Dube told ch-aviation in an interview that the airline was not looking at financing measures such as a share issue or bank loans, while an IPO will eventually take place “for sure, but that’s a long ways away, we have to create a track record first.”

Currently, just two scheduled carriers in India are listed, IndiGo Airlines (6E, Delhi International) and SpiceJet (SG, Delhi International). Earlier attempts by the now-grounded carrier Go First (GOW, Mumbai International) to stage an IPO did not take off.

According to ch-aviation fleets data, the 14-month-old carrier currently operates a fleet of nineteen B737-8s and one B737-8-200, a twenty-strong threshold that now gives it the power to fly abroad. It has its eye initially on the Middle East. Dube reaffirmed to the news agency that it expects to place a three-digit order for aircraft by the end of 2023, an aim it set forth back in March. It already has 52 more of the -200s and four more of the original -8 model on order, all of which will join the fleet by mid-2027.

He insisted that Akasa Air is funded well enough to place the new aircraft order. Despite the death last year of key investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, the Jhunjhunwala family “say that they are invested with us for the long run.”

“We are in growth mode. We should have two more aircraft delivered before the end of this calendar year. We will exit the financial year [ending March 31] with 25 aircraft. We will exit the following financial year with approximately 40 aircraft,” Dube outlined.