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Private airlines SpiceJet inaugurated its first cargo aircraft today. Inaugurated by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, the SpiceXpress will launch its operations on September 18.
Spicejet promoter Ajay Singh said that there is great demand for freight services in the country. “SpiceJet is the first scheduled airline to branch out into freighters. This is the first of four cargo aircraft that will join our fleet this year.”
The induction of four aircraft will see SpiceJet to offer 27,000 tonnes per month from current 15,000 tonnes a month, Singh added. The airline will look to launch its dedicated freighter services between Delhi and Bengaluru apart from looking at connecting Amritsar, Kabul and Hong Kong.
"The new venture will be a division of Spicejet. Initially, we will operate two Boeing 737 700 and two Boeing 737 800, " Singh said.
PTI adds
A Boeing 737-700 plane has been inducted as the first freighter aircraft.
"This is the first of four cargo aircraft that will join our fleet this year,” Ajay Singh said.
According to the airline, the air cargo services would boost its ancillary business growth. The fleet of freighters would consist of Boeing 737 planes and would be “operated on an incremental direct operating cost model“.
SpiceJet would utilise common pool of resources like pilots, engineers, ground staff and airport infrastructure for the cargo services. Among other items, the airline said it would ship perishables like farm fresh fruits and vegetables to the Middle East.
The air cargo traffic in the country is expected to grow by 60 per cent in the next five years, as per estimates.
SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh said there is a huge untapped market for air cargo services in India. “With our proven operational capability, this is an extension of our ‘belly cargo’ service to a ‘dedicated freighter’ with Boeing 737 aircraft,” he said.
At present, SpiceJet’s existing fleet has a cargo capacity of about 500 tonnes per day. “With the launch of the dedicated freighter service this capacity would go up to 900 tonnes a day in a phased manner with the addition of four freighters by March 2019,” the airline said.
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