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Ashwini Phadnis

Emirates Skycargo is expanding operations in India and is in the process of acquiring Airbus A-310.

EMIRATES Skycargo, the cargo division of Dubai-based Emirates Airlines, plans to launch dedicated freighter services to India shortly. In a telephonic interview from Dubai, Mr Ram Menen, Senior Vice-president, Cargo, said that the airline was planning the launch with the Airbus A-310 aircraft.

"We are in the process of acquiring the Airbus A-310 aircraft. We hope to be able to launch the service to India either late this year or early next. The Airbus A-310 will supplement the cargo space available in the Boeing 747," Mr Menen said.

The airline is to receive three Airbus A-310 aircraft for freighter services. The frequency of flights to be operated by these dedicated freighters will depend on the demand of the market, Mr Menen said. Each of the Airbus A-310 aircraft that the airline plans to acquire will be able to carry 39 tonnes of cargo.

Emirates Skycargo operates from six cities in India, offering a combination of freighter and belly-hold capacity of over 1,000 tonnes a week. In April last year, Skycargo introduced a freighter service from Dubai to Bangalore operating a Boeing 747-200 aircraft. The three-times-a-week flights continue onwards to Singapore. Skycargo offers 150 tonnes of committed cargo a day to India in each direction.

India is an important market for the airline's cargo business; it accounted for about seven per cent of its worldwide revenue generation, during the last financial year. It moved 8,38,400 tonnes of freight during 2004-05, an increase of 27 per cent over the previous year, while its revenues grew by 43 per cent to touch $940 million during the same period.

Skycargo is also "watching" the situation to see to which other cities it should begin operations. "We are watching the situation. At moment most of the cargo moves out from the metros, such as Mumbai," Mr Menen said.

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