The pioneer's touch - Capt Gopinath seeks to trigger freighter boom with new venture
26 May 2008
New Delhi: Aviation low cost services pioneer, Capt GR Gopinath, has said that the new cargo airline proposed to be set up by him would work with SEZ developers and retailers, such as Reliance and Bharti in providing end-to-end and integrated logistics solutions. He said that the new airline would have pan-India connectivity and operation in remote areas with rich resources.
The proposed airline will initially launch operations on both metro and non-metro routes with 10 medium and small-size aircraft.
''We have formed a team of about 50 people who are exploring markets. Though our service would be in line with other air cargo majors such as DHL and FedEx, our reach would be quite larger. We plan to operate to still unconnected areas, coastal and mountain areas,'' said Capt Gopinath.
It is being given to understand that the new venture has mandated Edelweiss, a financial services firm, to attract equity. The proposed cargo airline obtained a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the civil aviation ministry a week back. It is expected that it will try and launch operations over the next few months.
According to industry sources, the cargo airline would focus on profitability from the start.
''My dream is to connect all those places which are not connected by air so far. But this would not happen at the cost of profitability. People can't always put up industries in Delhi and Mumbai. They would go to remote areas and they are in fact going there,'' he added.
Total cargo traffic at Indian airports has recorded a compounded annual growth rate of 9.5% for the last six years. It grew by 21.5% in 2006-07 from 15.6% during 2005-06.
Asked if operating on non-metro routes would be commercially-viable, Capt Gopinath said, ''Somebody has to trigger the shift. Our idea is to create the boom and then ride the boom. In fact, today we are losing more money on Mumbai-Delhi route than on Mumbai-Kolhapur.
