Want to be world's greenest airline, Akasa Air's Aditya Ghosh at Oxford India Forum
Want to be world's greenest airline, Akasa Air's Aditya Ghosh at Oxford India Forum
Aditya Ghosh, co-founder of Akasa Air, envisions the airline becoming the greenest in the world. Speaking at a session during the Oxford India Forum, Ghosh said this goal is more of an audacious dream rather than a set target.
"Essentially at Akasa, we've got this kind of ambition that we want to be the greenest airline in the world some day," Ghosh said.
However, he acknowledged the challenges associated with transitioning to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), particularly the limited supply and high costs.
Ghosh also highlighted India's ambition to have 100 million customers flying on 10% blended SAF by 2030, which would add approximately $340 million to ticket prices.
He explained that India's aviation market is under-penetrated, even with about 600 airplanes currently in operation and over 1,000 on order.
Despite this growth, Ghosh noted that even doubling or tripling the number of aircraft won't make air travel sufficiently affordable and democratized.
"We are going to see double or triple the number of aeroplanes in the country over the next 10 to 15 years. But even that, I think, will not be enough to make air travel affordable and democratised," he said.
To address fuel consumption, Ghosh said Akasa Air is implementing various measures.
"The engines we use burn 20% less fuel than comparable engines," Ghosh explains, adding that the winglets on their aircraft improve lift efficiency. The airline also uses direct routing to save fuel and employs single-engine taxiing to reduce fuel consumption.
Additionally, Akasa's flight attendant uniforms are made from recycled marine plastic waste, and they have saved 360,000 liters of water by foregoing traditional water cannon salutes for new aircraft.
Ghosh believes the journey towards sustainable aviation will involve multiple smaller innovations, such as electric or hybrid aircraft and improved wing designs.
"Significant leaps in fuel savings are expected from better aerodynamics rather than engine advancements," he pointed out.
He also highlighted that regulatory or market mechanisms are needed to incentivize the use of newer, more fuel-efficient aircraft, adding that Akasa Air refreshes its fleet every 6 to 9 years to maintain efficiency and reduce emissions.
Responding to questions, Ghosh discusses the challenges of balancing low-cost operations with the higher costs of SAF.
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