Akasa Air

Akasa Air is India's newest scheduled airline, launched in August 2022 and flying an all-Boeing 737 MAX fleet from its main bases at Mumbai and Bengaluru. It has grown quickly from seven aircraft to a nationwide domestic network with international routes to the Gulf and beyond, making it one of the fastest-scaling start-up carriers anywhere. Backed by the family of the late investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, it competes with IndiGo and Air India on a single-fleet, low-cost model.

Flying for Akasa Air

Akasa launched Akasa SkyCadet in 2026, an ab-initio programme that takes candidates with no flying experience through to its own flight deck in three stages: ground school covering regulations, navigation, meteorology, aircraft systems and human performance; DGCA commercial licence flight training including dual, solo, instrument and cross-country work; and finally a Boeing 737 MAX type rating. The airline also recruits direct-entry pilots as its fleet grows.

SkyCadet selection is multi-stage and assesses aptitude and suitability before any flying begins, which is the pattern across Indian cadet schemes — computer-based reasoning, numeracy, memory and multitasking batteries, followed by English assessment, interviews and a medical. Intakes are advertised for a fixed window and close on a published date, so the reasoning and attention tests are worth practising well before a round opens rather than during it.