Deccan 360 aims to double capacity, expand fleet

New Delhi: Deccan 360, the cargo and logistics airline promoted by low-cost airline pioneer G.R. Gopinath, will double its cargo capacity and add new aircraft by next year to tap a fast growing domestic cargo market.
Deccan 360 is owned by Deccan Cargo and Express Logistics Pvt. Ltd, in which Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) picked up a 26-49% stake in April. RIL’s Reliance Retail unit has a presence in at least 85 cities across 14 states in India, with at least 1,000 stores.
“The business has actually picked up; effectively, the customers are giving more and more, and in order to meet the requirement, we have taken the direction to move forward and introduce more capacity in the country,” said Thomas Mathew, the carrier’s new CEO, formerly of UPS. “If you look at stats of all the airports of the country, there is huge demand for cargo, especially since (with) all the MNCs (multinational companies) setting up manufacturing, there will be more and more demand in the local market itself.”
Starting this month, the airline will increase its on-air carrying capacity from 40 tonnes to 120 tonnes with the help of a fleet of five turboprops ATRs and three Airbus A310s. This will be supported by 225 vehicles for door-to-door express and parcel services.
15/11/10 Tarun Shukla/Live Mint

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Categories: Cargo Nov 2010, Deccan 360 Nov 2010