Air India starts cargo operations with Airbus planes

Air India Ltd., the nation's biggest overseas carrier, started freighter operations with two Airbus SAS planes to tap rising demand for transporting goods in the world's second-fastest growing major economy. Air India started flights to Europe with the freighters, converted from old A310 passenger planes at a cost of $16 million, it said in a statement released in Mumbai today. Growing exports of gems and jewelry and imports of technology equipment have boosted demand for cargo flights in the South Asian country. India has one cargo airline, Blue Dart Express Ltd., and existing airlines plan to start cargo flights by buying new planes or converting passenger aircraft.

India should have 500 cargo planes within the next 15 years, Praful Patel, the country's civil aviation minister, said in Mumbai at a function in connection with the start of state-owned Air India's cargo operations. State-owned Indian Airlines Ltd. is converting five Boeing Co. 737 aircraft to start cargo service while Deccan Aviation Ltd. and GoAirlines (India) Pvt. are also planning freighter services in India. Air India has a share of about 11 percent of cargo export from the country and 7 percent of imports, it said. It now moves cargo in passenger planes. The carrier will initially operate four flights a week to Frankfurt and Paris with the two A310s. The first cargo flight from Mumbai to Frankfurt will have stopovers in Bangalore and in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, it said.

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