Akasa Air has entered the airline loyalty programme space with the launch of “Akasa Elevate”, marking a significant step in its strategy to deepen customer retention as competition intensifies in India's aviation market.
The programme, launched on the airline’s fourth anniversary on August 7, allows passengers to earn and redeem points on flights and ancillary services while offering tier-based benefits such as priority services, travel flexibility and faster status progression.
The move comes at a time when India's airlines are increasingly looking beyond fares to build customer stickiness, with loyalty programmes becoming a key differentiator, particularly among frequent and business travellers. A little over two years ago, IndiGo, India's biggest carrier, launched its own customer loyalty programme BlueChip, 18 years after its debut.
“After spending four years focusing on customer experience and carrying nearly 30 million passengers, we felt this was the right time to launch our loyalty programme,” Akasa Air founder and CEO Vinay Dube said.
Unlike conventional airline loyalty programmes, Akasa said elite-tier privileges will remain available irrespective of whether a passenger books directly with the airline or through travel agents and online travel portals. “We will have one of the fastest tier progressions. Once a customer reaches a particular tier, they will be able to exercise those privileges irrespective of the booking channel they choose,” the executive said.
Akasa will also allow members to retrospectively claim loyalty points for flights taken from April 1, 2026, even though the programme formally goes live on August 7.
The airline is also introducing what it describes as a flexible same-day travel feature targeted at its most frequent flyers. Eligible members arriving at the airport early will be able to shift to an earlier flight departing within 12 hours without paying any change fee, subject to seat availability.
“If someone finishes work early and reaches the airport ahead of time, they can move to an earlier flight without any fees. They can do this an unlimited number of times, subject to seat availability. We are focusing on the flexibility that frequent flyers value the most,” the executive said.
Industry analysts say flexibility benefits have become increasingly important as airlines seek to attract high-yield corporate travellers without relying solely on fare discounts.
While corporate travellers are expected to benefit significantly from such features, Akasa said the programme has not been designed exclusively around that segment.
“It is not specifically about corporate customers. We want to thank anybody who chooses to fly Akasa. That said, we have received a wonderful response from the corporate sector. We probably have a larger share of corporate travellers than one might associate with an airline operating just 40 aircraft. We are becoming the first choice for many corporate travellers despite having a smaller network,” the executive said.
Akasa currently operates a fleet of 40 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and has carried nearly 30 million passengers since commencing operations in August 2022. The airline serves 29 domestic and seven international destinations and has an order book of 226 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
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