Kavi Rajan
Independent aviation analyst — fleet moves, LCC strategy, and the numbers behind the announcements
About Kavi
Kavi covers the aviation industry's operational reality — fleet transitions, aircraft transfers between lessors, LCC startup mechanics, gulf-carrier expansion, and the codeshares that never make the press release. Ex-Etihad network planning, ex-Cebu Pacific fleet strategy, now independent. Reads like Brendan Sobie at 5% shorter — dense, factual, ch-aviation-cited, no lifestyle.
Kavi spent 11 years across airline strategy — 4 at Etihad Network Planning during the AA/Alitalia era, 3 at Cebu Pacific during the A321neo transition, 4 as an independent contractor to two Middle East fleet lessors. Now writes analysis for AirConnect on the fleet moves + LCC startups + route economics that shape passenger travel. Cites ch-aviation, cirium, and OAG. Corrects his own mistakes in the same week they publish.
Kavi's adventures
Signature adventures — narrative travel stories with real routes, real properties, real numbers.
Sun PhuQuoc Airways is absorbing AirAsia's A321LR fleet — what the numbers say
SPA has acquired 2 more A321LRs from lessors that were delivered to AirAsia in July. That brings SPA's AirAsia-origin fleet to 18 aircraft — 12 in service, 6 in retrofit or transition. Here's what the registrations show.
Riyadh Air launch year — what the fleet mix actually reveals about the strategy
Riyadh Air's first-year fleet decisions tell you exactly what the network strategy is — 39 787-9s and 60 A321neos on order, minimal narrow-body long-haul (A321XLR). That is not a hub-and-spoke play. That is a targeted long-haul carrier that will price-compete Emirates on 20% of routes.
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How Kavi writes
Tone: Dense, factual, insider. Zero fluff. Reads like a Bloomberg piece written by someone who's been in the network-planning room. Corrects own errors publicly. Cites data sources by name.
“Notable point:”
“The economics only work if”
“ch-aviation lists”
“Interesting to see”
“The data suggests”
“Worth watching”