By Abhijith Ganapavaram

NEW DELHI, Oct 29 (Reuters) - India's Akasa Air aims to

go public in the next two to five years and plans to restart

hiring pilots in the second half of next year, its chief

executive said on Wednesday.

Loss-making Akasa, India's third largest airline, has not

had enough work for pilots due to delayed deliveries from Boeing ( BA )

, as the planemaker faced regulatory scrutiny and the

effects of a seven-week workers' strike.

Reuters has reported that the airline's executives have

privately expressed frustration over Boeing's ( BA ) delays.

"In the next 60 days, 100% of our pilots will start accruing

hours, meaning they'll be in the cockpit," Akasa CEO Vinay Dube

told Reuters on the sidelines of an Aviation India event,

without providing details.

He added that he did not see any need to raise capital

before an IPO, having raised an undisclosed sum earlier this

year.

"Our next phase should be an IPO in a two to five year time

horizon," he told an audience, when asked about the airline's

future plans. He did not say where the company planned to list.

Dube also pushed back on suggestions that Akasa's expansion

plans were behind schedule due to jet delivery delays.

"I am extremely thrilled that we've got 30 aircraft .... We

should have been exactly where we are today," he told the

audience. He declined to say how many aircraft Akasa expected to

receive in total this year and in the coming years.

Its executives have previously suggested that Akasa would

have roughly 54 planes by October 2026, Reuters has reported.

The airline had earlier estimated it would have 72 by March

2027.