Jhunjhunwala’s new airline to offer stock options to bigger pool of executives

The new airline backed by billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala will offer stock options to attract staff, using a lure more often deployed by technology startups in its bid to gain a foothold in the Indian market, according to a report.

Akasa, which is preparing to start flying in May, will grant company shares to a bigger pool of top employees, rather than a select group of executives, according to the airline’s chief executive.

“We want to have an organisation that’s very tight knit in values, but diverse in experiences, genders, locations within India,” Vinay Dube told Bloomberg. “We were saddened by the plight of employees through the pandemic, some of the bankruptcies that have taken place in Indian aviation, and we wanted to create homes for them where they are happy.”

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The degree to which Akasa plans to grant stock options for staff will be “far greater than most airlines in India and hopefully reminiscent of maybe some of the tech startups where they go fairly deep in the way they provide employee stock ownership plans”, Dube said.

Akasa, backed by several aviation veterans, has hired around 50 employees for back office functions and is now recruiting pilots, flight attendants and airport staff, said Dube, who is also Akasa’s founder and managing director. The careers page of Akasa’s website, decked out in the airline’s orange and purple brand identity with a tagline of ‘It’s Your Sky’, states that new applications have been paused after an “unprecedented number” of inquiries were received.

“It’s flattering, overwhelming, but there’s also a hint of sadness because I don’t want so many people to be either unemployed or unhappy,” said Dube. “If we don’t treat our employees well, if we don’t take care of them, then it’s very hard for them to take care of customers, which we want them to do.”