Akasa Air, India’s youngest full-service challenger in the skies, has entered a pivotal new chapter with a strategic realignment at the top. In February 2026, the airline confirmed the resignation of co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer Praveen Iyer, even as it moved swiftly to appoint fellow co-founder and Chief Information Officer Anand Srinivasan as the new Chief Commercial Officer. Coming barely four months after the exit of co-founder and international operations head Neelu Khatri, the leadership transition underscores a broader recalibration of strategy at a carrier that has grown at breakneck speed since launching flights in August 2022. For travelers and industry watchers, the developments raise pressing questions about how Akasa’s evolving leadership architecture will shape its next phase of expansion, network design and service experience.
A Young Airline at an Inflection Point
Akasa Air’s rise has been one of the defining stories in India’s aviation market over the past three and a half years. Backed in its early days by the late investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and led by seasoned industry veterans including founder and chief executive Vinay Dube and co-founder Aditya Ghosh, Akasa entered a market dominated by IndiGo and the growing Air India group. From its first commercial flight in August 2022, the airline pursued a strategy built on disciplined expansion, a single-aircraft-type fleet and a brand promise that blended value pricing with a warm, contemporary service ethos.
By early 2026, that strategy had translated into a fleet of 33 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft operating more than a thousand weekly flights across a mix of domestic and select international routes. The airline has steadily built its presence on key business corridors while also opening up thinner, under-served city pairs, positioning itself as a nimble competitor attuned to both metro and non-metro demand. Its growth trajectory has been backed by an ambitious aircraft order book and a technology-first mindset across operations, revenue management and customer touchpoints.
Yet, the very pace of expansion has brought its own stresses. The airline has navigated pilot supply challenges, compliance scrutiny and the financial pressures of scaling in a price-sensitive, fuel-cost-exposed environment. Government data recently showed Akasa posting a sizeable loss in the 2024–25 financial year, even as India’s carriers collectively remained in the red. The leadership realignment now underway is unfolding against this backdrop of rapid growth, operational headwinds and a tight competitive field.
The Exit of a Co-Founder and Commercial Architect
The announcement on February 11, 2026, that co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer Praveen Iyer would step down marked a significant moment for the airline. Iyer, a member of the executive committee, has been with Akasa through a roughly five-year journey from concept to execution, playing a central role in building its commercial framework. Company statements and internal communications have highlighted his contribution in shaping route strategy, partnerships and the revenue architecture that underpins the business.
Iyer will remain with the airline through April 30, 2026, to support what Akasa has described as a smooth and structured transition. That transition window is not just a courtesy; it is a critical bridge during which key strategy documents, partner relationships and commercial planning cycles are handed over to his successor. Such overlaps can make the difference between a disruption that is visible in schedules and fares, and a seamless continuity that passengers barely notice.
The resignation also carries symbolic weight because Iyer is the second co-founder to depart in a short span. In October 2025, co-founder and senior vice president for international operations, Neelu Khatri, left the airline after steering its early forays beyond India’s borders, including the launch of its first codeshare in March 2025. Taken together, the exits highlight an important generational change within the founding team and invite scrutiny of how commercial and international strategies might evolve under a refreshed leadership group.
Anand Srinivasan’s Expanded Mandate
In the same announcement that confirmed Iyer’s exit, Akasa named co-founder and Chief Information Officer Anand Srinivasan as the airline’s new Chief Commercial Officer. Srinivasan, one of the early architects of Akasa’s technology vision, has overseen the creation of platforms spanning revenue systems, operational technology, digital products, data and analytics. His elevation to the commercial helm signals a deliberate decision to fuse commercial strategy with digital and data-driven capabilities.
For Akasa, the appointment is more than a straightforward succession choice. It reflects the airline’s belief that tomorrow’s commercial playbook will be written as much in lines of code and real-time data feeds as in traditional route planning spreadsheets. Under Srinivasan’s leadership, the carrier has already invested in tech infrastructure designed to optimize pricing, capacity deployment and customer engagement. Moving him into the CCO role effectively brings these tools closer to the heart of revenue decision-making.
In the interim, Akasa has initiated a search for a new Chief Information Officer, while confirming that the information technology function will report to Chief Financial Officer Ankur Goel. The re-routing of IT into the finance domain suggests a sharper focus on technology investments as strategic capital expenditure, with a tighter linkage between digital initiatives, cost discipline and profitability goals. For an airline navigating losses while still in expansion mode, such integration could prove decisive.
Strategic Realignment: From Growth at Any Cost to Disciplined Expansion
The leadership transition comes at a time when Akasa appears to be rebalancing its priorities. The early-phase imperative was to establish scale and brand presence in a crowded market, which involved aggressively growing the fleet, launching new routes and staking out a share of India’s surging air travel demand. That growth came with high upfront costs in aircraft acquisition, network build-out and talent.
Now, with more than 30 aircraft in service and a recognizable brand on key routes, the airline is facing a different challenge: turning capacity and market share into durable profitability. Recent financial figures underline the magnitude of that task. Akasa reported a loss approaching 2,000 crore rupees for the 2024–25 period, a significant outflow even by the standards of an industry known for thin margins and cyclical shocks. At the same time, the carrier has been named in regulatory data for a notable number of show-cause notices issued by India’s aviation watchdog over the past two years, a reminder of the operational and compliance risks of scaling fast.
Within this context, the decision to place a tech-first co-founder in charge of commercial strategy can be read as a bid to extract more value from every seat flown. Expect a sharper emphasis on route profitability, granular demand forecasting and dynamic pricing informed by robust data analytics. The interplay between Srinivasan’s commercial team and Goel’s finance oversight of IT may also herald a more rigorous evaluation of which digital initiatives directly support revenue and cost management objectives.
Implications for Network, Fleet and International Ambitions
For travelers, the most immediate concern whenever an airline reshapes its leadership is what the change will mean for routes, schedules and fares. To date, Akasa’s public messaging has emphasized continuity. When co-founder Neelu Khatri departed in October 2025, the airline stressed that its existing international operations and expansion plans remained intact. With Iyer’s exit, the company has similarly underscored that the airline is well positioned for its next phase of growth, pointing to the continued induction of new Boeing 737 MAX jets, including its 33rd aircraft which joined the fleet in early February 2026.
In practice, strategic realignment often translates into a more granular review of route economics. Under its new commercial leadership, Akasa is likely to scrutinize underperforming sectors, adjust capacity on high-demand city pairs and fine-tune frequencies around peaks such as holiday seasons and major festivals. While travelers could see some schedule adjustments or aircraft upgauging and downgauging across routes, the broad thrust is expected to be optimization rather than contraction, given the airline’s commitment to its order pipeline and its push to maintain relevance against larger rivals.
On the international front, Akasa has already planted flags in select regional markets while forging cooperative arrangements such as codeshares to extend its reach. The exit of the executive who built much of that early international portfolio and the reshuffling of the commercial team could prompt a fresh look at which overseas destinations align best with the airline’s brand, fleet and cost structure. Passengers may see a measured but targeted rollout of new international routes, with an eye on connectivity from tier-two Indian cities that are underserved by full-service carriers yet attractive for outbound travel.
Operational Discipline and Regulatory Spotlight
One of the less visible, but equally important, angles to Akasa’s leadership changes lies in the arena of operations and oversight. The airline has had to grapple with pilot availability constraints, which have affected much of the global industry, and with the exacting scrutiny of regulators who are keen to ensure that rapid capacity additions are matched by robust safety and compliance practices. Official figures showing multiple show-cause notices for various lapses have kept Akasa on the radar of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
Strategic realignment at the top often reverberates through how an airline manages its frontline operations. With commercial and technology leadership now more tightly intertwined, there is scope for using advanced data tools to better monitor operational performance, predict bottlenecks and pre-empt issues ranging from crew availability to turnaround times. For travelers, improvements in these areas translate into more reliable schedules, fewer last-minute disruptions and a smoother end-to-end journey.
Moreover, with IT now reporting into the finance function, Akasa may prioritize systems that not only enhance the top line but also directly support safety management, compliance tracking and real-time reporting to regulators. A transparent, data-backed approach to operational oversight can help the airline reduce the incidence of regulatory actions and boost confidence among both passengers and institutional stakeholders.
Investor Confidence, Competition and Market Positioning
From a market standpoint, Akasa’s leadership transition is unfolding in a fiercely contested landscape. IndiGo continues to dominate domestic skies, while the Air India group, under its new owners, is pressing ahead with a large-scale transformation and fleet expansion of its own. Other carriers are sharpening their propositions in niches such as regional connectivity, premium services or ultra-low fares. In this environment, even a young airline with a distinctive brand cannot afford prolonged strategic drift at the top.
The airline’s early backers and newer investors will be watching closely to see whether the current round of changes ushers in a more disciplined growth curve, measurable improvements in unit revenue and a clearer path toward profitability. Statements from Akasa’s leadership have sought to project stability, emphasizing the depth of its remaining founding team, which includes co-founders such as Aditya Ghosh, Anand Srinivasan and Belson Coutinho alongside founder and chief executive Vinay Dube.
Nevertheless, the departure of two co-founders within months will inevitably raise questions around governance, alignment on long-term strategy and the internal culture at a high-growth carrier. How effectively the airline manages this narrative could influence its access to future capital, its ability to attract senior talent and even its leverage in discussions with manufacturers, lessors and airport partners. For now, the company is signaling that the transitions have been carefully planned, with outgoing executives publicly expressing confidence in the airline’s trajectory.
What It Means for Travelers and the Road Ahead
For passengers booking an Akasa flight in the coming months, the impact of the current leadership realignment is likely to be subtle rather than dramatic. Flights will continue to operate, new aircraft will join the fleet and the brand’s existing service hallmarks will remain in place. Over time, however, travelers may notice shifts such as refined network choices, enhanced digital experiences in booking and post-booking, and potentially more sophisticated fare products tailored to different segments of leisure and business demand.
The appointment of a technology-focused leader to the top commercial role suggests that Akasa will double down on using data to understand traveler preferences, manage ancillary revenues and personalize offers. That could mean smarter combinations of fares with add-ons like priority services, flexible changes or bundled bags, allowing travelers to pick from more nuanced options while helping the airline stabilize yields. If executed well, such strategies can deliver a better value proposition without necessarily driving headline fares sharply higher.
Looking ahead, the airline’s challenge will be to convert the promise of its founding vision and the momentum of its early growth into a sustainable business model. That will demand not only clever revenue management and careful route selection, but also a renewed focus on cost control, operational resilience and regulatory trust. In this sense, the departures and appointments announced in early 2026 are less a disruption than a visible marker of Akasa’s evolution from a fast-scaling upstart to a maturing carrier under intense scrutiny.
As India’s aviation market continues to expand, fuelled by a growing middle class and increasing business travel, Akasa’s trajectory will remain closely watched. Its ability to navigate this period of strategic realignment and executive transition without losing sight of the traveler experience will determine whether it can cement its place as a long-term fixture in the country’s skies. For now, the message from its leadership is one of continuity with recalibration, as a young airline tests the resilience of its foundations at cruising altitude.