Indian Air Cargo Awaits A Paradigm Shift

Indian government’s decision to disinvest Air India will hopefully bring the debt-ridden airline on track. Air India has the capacity advantage over a network combined with 58 domestic and 29 international stations. Abhay Pathak, Executive Director (Commercial), Cargo Division, Air India, believes that Air India cargo will grow only if there is a freighter operation. In an exclusive interview with Indian Transport & Logistics News, Pathak speaks to Rashmi Pradhan on cargo trends in India, vision for Air India cargo and much more…

- Abhay Phank

What kind of transitions have you brought in the cargo operations of Air India after you took charge?

I joined Air India cargo around seven to eight months ago and have been focusing on how to make things better. Everyone in the organisation is working in a conventional manner which is not their mistake. When I brought about the changes, obviously the team was uncomfortable. But when they realised that these changes are doable and resulted in getting revenue and achieving the targets, the team slowly started building up. Under the leadership of former Air India chairman Ashwani Lohani, cargo division received its due attention, as he realised that with little efforts, cargo can generate more revenue than passenger. At most of the international destinations (Korea, USA, Europe, Australia), we have appointed a GSA based on MGR (minimum guarantee revenue) policy. This concept has been implemented around four months ago and resulted in positive response and increase in revenue manifold. I have brought about many schemes to facilitate and motivate the distribution channel.

Elaborate on the schemes for distribution channels?