Akasa Air, which launched a week ago, will endeavor to run a "wonderful airline," in accordance with its Co-Founder and CEO Vinay Dube, in order to honor the legacy, values, and principles of its late billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala.
Even before it began flying, Jhunjhunwala, one of the venture's financiers, was strongly identified with Akasa Air, which was "conceived and born in 12 months."
The course of Akasa Air, which launched its inaugural flight on August 7 on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route, will be widely observed in the high growth potential and fiercely competitive Indian civil aviation industry.
"We are very saddened by the sudden death of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala this morning," stated Dube, founder and CEO of Akasa Air.
Additionally, he noted how the multibillionaire investor had been a team player from the start and had confidence in them to create a top-tier airline.
Akasa Air will miss Jhunjhunwala's strategic advice greatly as condolence messages stream in following his passing. He was regarded as the "Big Bull" and the "Warren Buffett of India" for his investment knowledge.
Although the 62-year-old investor was not involved in the day-to-day operations of Akasa Air, his investment alone provided the airline with the much-needed boost.
Additionally, it was India's first regularly scheduled domestic carrier to be introduced in nearly ten years.
"Jhunjhunwala had an unbreakable spirit, was fervently passionate about all things Indian, and genuinely cared about the welfare of our staff members and clients. In order to honour Jhunjhunwala's legacy, ideals, and faith in us, Akasa Air will work hard to operate a fantastic airline "In a statement, Dube stated.
Aditya Ghosh, a seasoned pilot and one of the founders of Akasa Air, expressed shock, sadness, numbness, and a lack of words.
Ghosh called the passing of Jhunjhunwala a "very personal loss" and stated that ever since the morning, a lot of memories have been flashing by.
What sticks out in his mind and heart, he wrote in a tweet, "is RJ's love of life, courage, simplicity of heart, real affection and most significantly, youthful laughter."
SNV Aviation Pvt Ltd is the airline's owner.
According to sources, among others, Jhunjhunwala controls 40% of the company and Ghosh 10%.
A wheelchair-bound Jhunjhunwala was all praise for the civil aviation ministry officials at the inaugural ceremony of Akasa Air's first flight at the Mumbai airport last Sunday for their support in getting the airline operational.
"Nowhere in the world is an airline created and launched in less than a year. Normally, it takes 9 months for a kid to be born "At the ceremony, where Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia essentially signaled the first jet to take off, he had stated.
It was a significant day in Indian civil aviation history, according to the minister.
According to the airline's website, the founding team also includes Belson Coutinho, Anand Srinivasan, Bhavin Joshi, Neelu Khatri, Sanjay Dube, Niraj Dube, and Praveen Iyer. Vinay Dube and Aditya Ghosh are the other members.
Akasa Air has placed a definite order for 72 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, describing itself as the nation's "newest and most dependable airline."
The biggest airline in the nation, IndiGo, declared that Jhunjhunwala was a remarkable person who will be sorely missed.
The creation of Akasa Air was one of Jhunjhunwala's most recent contributions to Indian aviation, the airline said in a statement. "Jhunjhunwala was a towering figure in India's financial world," it added.
