Akasa Air co-founder Neelu Khatri resigns: She was one of the airline’s six founding members; the company holds a 5.4% market share in the Indian market.

Neelu Khatri, the co-founder of Akasa Air, an Indian airline launched three years ago, has resigned from the company. Neelu was one of the company’s six founding members and currently handled international operations.

Akasa Air issued a statement confirming Khatri’s resignation. According to the airline’s statement, Khatri has decided to move on from the company to pursue a new direction in her professional journey.

Neelu Khatri’s resignation comes at a time when Akasa Air has seen some significant changes in recent months. Earlier in August, the company raised funding from investors like Premji Invest and Claypond Capital for expansion.

Akasa Air’s five other co-founders (Aditya Ghosh, Anand Srinivasan, Belson Coutinho, Bhavin Joshi, and Praveen Iyer) remain with the company. The company is led by CEO Vinay Dubey.

Azim Premji’s company invests in Akasa Air

Azim Premji’s Premji Invest, Ranjan Pai’s Manipal Group, and 360 One Asset are jointly acquiring a stake in Akasa Air’s parent company, SNV Aviation. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the purchase in April.

The three companies entered into an agreement to acquire a stake in Akasa Air in February 2025. However, the exact amount of stake they will acquire is not yet known.

Akasa Air holds a 5.4% share in the Indian market

Akasa Air is steadily strengthening its market share. It held a 5.4% share in the domestic market in August. The airline currently operates a fleet of 30 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. Of these, 24 are used for domestic and 6 for international flights.

Target to build a fleet of 226 aircraft by 2032

In July, the company’s CFO, Ankur Goyal, announced that the airline is improving its financial performance, increasing capacity, and aims to expand its fleet to 226 aircraft by the end of 2032.