Cargo Talk Feb2021 (2) - Flipbook - Page 17
COVER STORY
be fuelled by pharmaceuticals, vaccines,
e-commerce and some sectors that have
bounced back like automotive aftersales. While these will be our focus
sectors, we will not restrict ourselves to
particular industry verticals.
What is the volume of tonnage
qthe airline has been carrying in
India and globally?
In 2020, we have transported about
128,000 tonnes of cargo. We had set
out to surpass our milestones that we
had set in 2019. The COVID-19 related
disruption certainly slowed us down
but generated enough opportunity for
us to exceed our targets for 2020 by
a long way. We were the pioneers in
launching ‘cargo-on-seat’ concept.
Adapting to the conditions, we have
also converted our Bombardier Q400
passenger aircraft into cargo carrying
freighters. Our innovative and adaptive
approach to the market conditions has
paid dividends.
What are your expansion
plans?
q
So far we have inducted 17 freighters in
our fleet – five Boeing 737, one Boeing
767, seven Bombardier Q 400 freighters,
one Airbus A330 and three Airbus A340.
However, we see a continuous surge in
demand, and the plan is to be able to
induct a freighter every few months.
How do you see the future of the
qair cargo industry?
I had mentioned in one of my earlier
interviews in May 2020 that I was expecting
a U-Shaped recovery rather than a V-Shaped
one. Our industry has taken a breather
in 2020. The next five years will be highgrowth years for the industry.
With the end consumer becoming more
tech-savvy and more demanding, the air
cargo industry is poised to leap forward.
Maintaining the integrity
The major challenges
that we could foresee were
of maintaining the product
integrity by transporting at the
right temperature
FEBRUARY - 2021
CARGOTALK 17