sanjiv gupta
H
ow may we best summarise the current state of the air cargo market? Does it continue to strengthen, or has it plateaued? IATA projects that the global airline industry will lose $314bn in 2020, representing a 55 per cent reduction from 2019 revenue. The current air cargo industry witnessed a correction over the last three months. Needless to say, this is a phenomenon that was observed across industries and countries. We must not forget that business cycles always take a correction before the next wave of growth. The market will continue to grow as far as air cargo is concerned. We view this as an opportunity to re-create our organisation in-line with our customers’ re-engineering efforts. What are the biggest macroeconomic drivers for the industry and how are they re-shaping India’s air cargo market? The emphasis for ‘Make in India’ is a shot in the arm for local industry, with
SpiceJet has scripted one of the most remarkable stories in Indian aviation, especially during the ongoing crisis, transporting over 17,535 tonnes of essential cargo on more than 2478 flights, of which 920 were international cargo flights. The carrier also continues on its mission to help Indian farmers maintain continuity of their supply chains by transporting fresh produce across India and abroad, with an ever-growing ambitious fleet and route expansion underway. Sanjiv Gupta, CEO, Spicexpress (the dedicated cargo arm of SpiceJet) informs Upamanyu Borah, on the most critical aspects that has helped the carrier to offer efficient and viable solutions, ultimately driving the growth that lies ahead.
We have the unique advantage of being a successful airline for the last 15 years the Vocal-For-Local initiative to drive up economic growth and bring a positive impact across sectors. Additionally, the Indian agriculture, fruit farming, aquaculture and animal husbandry communities have now started to embrace the change and make the best of opportunities to market their produce internationally. Then there is the newly evolved medical supplies sector, which forms a large part of the cargo movement– including PPE Kits, face masks and ventilators. In June, the first market segments to see re-start of transportation by air again are technology products and mobile phones. 26 |
July 2020
Each country has slightly different interpretations of certain regulations and compliance, given their unique regulatory development path. Coming from a slightly domestic perspective what you see as some of the differences, the unique interpretations of compliance? There is an open skies approach as far as cargo is concerned. As we operate in various countries, we have learnt about the required regulations and compliance and have been adhering to it. Can you give us an overview of the emerging cargo gateways in the developing world?
There are a few developing cargo hubs in Asia and Middle East region. We feel that these could be upcoming cargo gateways to cater to the local needs. The ones that we have explored to cater to Central Asia in the last few months are: Almaty International Airport, Kazakhsthan Islam Karimov Tashkent International Airport, Tashkent, Uzbekistan Manas International Airport, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Apart from these, Dhaka in Bangladesh and Yangon in Myanmar could be the upcoming hubs in South Asia owing to the growing local consumption.
