India is the largest air cargo market in the South Asian region, but very few airlines based out of the country have dedicated air freight services.
In fact, except for Blue Dart, no other Indian operator has a dedicated air freight service. This has allowed foreign airlines such as Emirates, Lufthansa, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines to corner a bulk of the market.
Together they carry over 80 per cent of all international cargo to and from India. But this is about to change with Jet Airways launching a freighter service, becoming the first private Indian passenger airline to offer all-cargo services. If the move is successful other Indian flag carriers could follow suit, industry experts say. In the past, Air India and Air Deccan were the only two Indian flag carriers to offer dedicated freight services but did not succeed, said B Govindarajan, Chief Operating Officer, Tirwin Management Services, a Chennai-based aviation consultancy firm. Most passenger airlines in India currently use the belly of the plane to transport cargo.
While Air India’s first phase of freighter operations was rewarding it chose to focus on Middle East passenger flights due to good returns rather than on the freight business, he said. In the late 90s, Air India withdrew from freighter markets but restarted in 2007 when it converted its AB310 aircraft into a freighter. But even this was later withdrawn.
22/04/15 TE Raja Simhan/Business Line
In fact, except for Blue Dart, no other Indian operator has a dedicated air freight service. This has allowed foreign airlines such as Emirates, Lufthansa, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines to corner a bulk of the market.
Together they carry over 80 per cent of all international cargo to and from India. But this is about to change with Jet Airways launching a freighter service, becoming the first private Indian passenger airline to offer all-cargo services. If the move is successful other Indian flag carriers could follow suit, industry experts say. In the past, Air India and Air Deccan were the only two Indian flag carriers to offer dedicated freight services but did not succeed, said B Govindarajan, Chief Operating Officer, Tirwin Management Services, a Chennai-based aviation consultancy firm. Most passenger airlines in India currently use the belly of the plane to transport cargo.
While Air India’s first phase of freighter operations was rewarding it chose to focus on Middle East passenger flights due to good returns rather than on the freight business, he said. In the late 90s, Air India withdrew from freighter markets but restarted in 2007 when it converted its AB310 aircraft into a freighter. But even this was later withdrawn.
22/04/15 TE Raja Simhan/Business Line
No comments:
Post a Comment