Cargo Talk Feb2021 (2) - Flipbook - Page 30
INDUSTRY INTERVIEW
High-value commodities
opt for airfreight
Establishing passenger to cargo operations last month, Swiss WorldCargo flies Boeing B777-300ER three times a week to
Mumbai (BOM) and once a week to Delhi (DEL), and has been flying with full load factors from the day of inception during the
COVID crisis. Shankar Iyer, Director Cargo India, Middle East & Africa, Swiss WorldCargo, shares details.
term planning a challenge. Further, the
directional freight flow imbalance due
to the pandemic and existing trade
barriers pose a major fiscal challenge to
the pure cargo operations.
What is the volume of tonnage
qthe airline has been carrying
globally? How much capacity do you
deploy from and to India?
Kalpana Lohumi
According to you, what are
qthe most important issues the
industry is facing at the moment?
And, how should we prepare for the
challenges?
The entire air cargo industry is facing
challenges, which mainly occurred due
to the travel restrictions implemented
to combat the Corona crisis from
March onwards last year. This led to a
significant reduction of the network and
required very short-term and innovative
planning and flight scheduling. We
at Swiss WorldCargo have been
able to reinstall a significant part of
our long-haul network in order to
connect Switzerland with the world and
vice versa.
Shankar Iyer
Director Cargo India, Middle East & Africa
Swiss WorldCargo
30 CARGOTALK
FEBRUARY - 2021
From our perspective, the biggest
challenge right now is that it is very
difficult to predict how the business will
continue to be impacted by the effects
of the Corona crisis, which causes very
short reaction times and makes long-
In the last month, we operated freight
flights to both BOM and DEL with our
B777-ER or A340-300 which we seek
to continue in the future. Globally,
we operated over 1,000 cargo flights
during 2020 carrying over 23,000
tonnes. Of course, once the passenger
travel will pick up again, we will resume
our focus on carrying cargo inside the
belly of our aircraft.
How did COVID-19 impact the air
cargo business in 2020? How are
you preparing for this year?
q
We saw that the demand for air cargo
continued in the past year with the
reinstating of our long-haul network,
through which we have been able
to contribute our share and kept the
network available. Further, there was
a demand for the transportation of
medical equipment with the beginning
of the crisis, and by end of the year also
the transportation of vaccines increased.
What are the vital trends that
qwill shape the air cargo industry?
The pandemic reinforced the fact that
essential and high value commodities
will always choose the airfreight mode.
Globally, we operated
over 1,000 cargo flights
during 2020 carrying over
23,000 tonnes. Of course,
once the passenger travel
will pick up again, we
will resume our focus on
carrying cargo inside the
belly of our aircraft
Pure charters, part-share charters are
the indicators. New distribution centres
and destinations with higher capabilities
and connectivity emerged.
Which are the top markets to
qwhich cargo can be transported?
Also, which verticals will you be
focusing on this year?
We as Swiss WorldCargo are specified
for the transportation of care-intensive
products; we have a long-standing
reputation for this segment and will
continue with our focus and expertise in
this field also for 2021.
Are you looking at expanding
qcargo operations in India or
worldwide?
We have already been successful in
keeping our operations running and
connecting India with Switzerland. We
are also looking into opportunities and
possible new destinations if it makes
commercial sense. We are looking
forward to normalcy in future with
daily operations.
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