India is the one of the few countries showing growth in cargo operations for Emirates. The airline is feeling the pressure of the Euro crisis and the US economic downturn in the Asian region, particularly South East Asia.
“India is showing single digit growth while other countries are flat. Australia and Africa are also showing growth. South East Asia has declined, especially in the last two quarters,” said Mr Pradeep Kumar, Senior Vice President, Cargo Revenue Optimisation and Systems of Emirates.
Nearly 10 per cent of Emirate’s cargo handling comes from India. Mr Kumar said with India showing growth, the airline was not averse to increasing freight capacity. At present, the airline operates one schedule freighter to Chennai, from Dubai, enroute to Hong Kong. On the return route, the freighter goes directly to Dubai.
The airline used to operate two regular freighters to Chennai, but withdrew one eight months ago due to the slowdown. “We may look at reviving the service if the situation improves,” he said without giving a timeframe.
Emirates also carries cargo in its regular wide bodied passenger aircrafts with a maximum capacity of 22 tonnes. “This is nearly the size of our small freighter that operates out of India,” he said.
The airline had a 15.4 per cent market share in cargo exports and 11.7 per cent in imports in the last financial year. The total cargo handled in the country was 1.30 lakh tonnes.
Till some time ago, garments accounted for nearly 60 per cent of exports from Chennai, garment exports have dropped by 20 per cent in 2011. “Telecom, auto and electronics account for a chunk of the cargo mix.”
The airline has 171 aircrafts, including eight dedicated freighters, globally.
According to Mr Kumar, the 2011 financial year will be ‘flat’. In 2009, the industry faced a similar situation. However, things improved in 2010 but worsened since then, he said. “We expect things to pick up in the second half of 2012.”