Air India eyeing larger cargo footprint

Air India eyeing larger cargo footprint Air India is evidently looking to expand its cargo division network to the United States and the Far East, according to a report in Cargonews Asia.
   An official for the cargo division of the state-run airline said this week that teams are studying the suitability of Hong Kong, Tokyo, Osaka, New York, Chicago, Toronto, Los Angeles and London as cargo destinations.
   Air India, which is in the midst of integrating the domestic state-operated carrier Indian Airlines, delivers cargo to Europe through services in Frankfurt and Paris. It also has a domestic distribution network of more than a dozen cities. But that will likely expand as the airline takes delivery of a batch of new passenger planes and converts some of the older planes in its fleet to freighters.
   In an August report in the Financial Express, an Air India official said the airline’s current market share in air freight exports is in the 9 percent to 11 percent range and the 5 percent to 7 percent range in imports.