A booming economy and a rapid growth of the food processing industry bodes well for the air cargo business in India, according to the industry insiders. ?India has become an important business destination. This has necessitated opening of new air routes to India, which in turn has boosted the air cargo industry,? said Keki Patel, cargo manager, India & Nepal, Emirates SkyCargo. The airlines operates four dedicated freight services a week to India. In addition, its passengers flights (98 per week) carry cargo to the tune of 1,500 tonne.
In fact, at a recent press conference to announce the launch of the Chennai-Toronto flight, Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal had mentioned that air freight could have a huge impact on an airlines? bottomline. ?Currently, cargo contribution to our revenue is in the region of 7%. We would like this figure to touch 10% in the domestic sector in the near future,? he said. Jet is planning to launch its dedicated cargo flights soon. The airline currently carries cargo on all its passengers flights (uplift ranging from 2 to 20 tonne per flight) on national as well international routes.
Similarly, Air India plans to enhance its cargo operations in the international front. The airline has two A310 freight carriers in operation (four services per week) on the India-Europe route connecting Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore on one side and Dammam, Frankfurt and Paris on the other. ?We are exploring a few destinations in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Saarc region for starting freight operations,? said Anita Khurana, SBU head-cargo and ground handling, Air India. On the domestic front, Indian Airlines?s (IC) B737 freight aircraft operate 12 services per week. There are plans to increase cargo operations in this sector as well.
Of late, there has been a spurt in export of perishable commodities, consumer goods like garments and textiles, handicrafts, leather, knitwear, hosiery and durables like machinery and electrical products. In fact, a recent Assocham Eco Pulse (AEP) study observed that the introduction of dedicated cargo aircraft on international as well as domestic routes has changed the pattern of cargo traffic.
According to the Assocham report, cargo business in the aviation sector has grown by 19% as against 10.3% and 9.2% for shipping and rail freight during the last three years. And with domestic airlines, logistic companies and retail majors planning to launch dedicated cargo flights, railways and port traffic are set to take a backseat. Sometime ago, there were reports that Reliance was planning to launch dedicated cargo operations for its retail venture. Domestic air cargo traffic grew by 34% in 2007, while international cargo traffic registered a growth of 15%.