Air India Cargo, a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Aviation Company India (NACIL) – the entity created by the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines – is planning to lease out aircraft in order to boost its revenue by about 10 per cent to around Rs 9 billion (US$228 million).
The company is currently in the process of converting six B737-200 passenger aircraft into freighters. The converted cargo planes are leased to India Post and the logistic firm Gati. Air India Cargo along with India Post recently started freighter service to the north-east region and on the Bombay-Delhi-Bangalore route.
The new cargo airline is in the process of acquiring freighter aircraft by way of aircraft. The first A-310 freighter has already started operations to the Gulf and Europe. It is planning to have a freighter fleet of at least 10 aircraft by the end of this fiscal.
The new Air India airline has converted two of its A310 passenger aircraft into dedicated freighter aircraft which are operating on the India-Europe route. The Indian air cargo market currently comprises only three per cent of the global air cargo market, but with rapid economic growth in the country the cargo traffic is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of around nine per cent over the next 10 years.
During this period the total air cargo volume is forecast to reach 9 million tonnes annually from the current 1.6 million tonnes.