“Yes, we are presently establishing eleven offices at all major Indian airports that will become operational in January,†Houx confirms. The 50/50 joint venture between Cismat and Seth, founder of Mumbai-based Allied Aviation Pvt. Ltd., is a big move for the German air freight sales agent that was foundedonly a year ago.
Ample cargo experience
But make no mistake, Sri Lankannative Hiran Houx is no greenhorn, but rather a cargo veteran who once managed the air freight business of Sri Lankan Airlines in Germany before changing sides by working for a local GSSA. Having successfully filled the cargo compartments and main decks of a number of carriers he thought of either retiring and sitting back by running a small hotel at his home island, or establish his own enterprise instead to do the GSSA job.
He finally opted for the latter after a round of talks with his Italian pal, Gianni Traverso, the founder of Compagnia Italiana Servizi Marittimi Aerei Terrestri – Cismat Italy. “Gianni offered me to take his company’s name in case I should decide building my own enterprise in Germany,†recalls Houx. Today, the Cismat brand is the only clip that connects both general sales agents. “However, I would not exclude a capital swap to take place sometime in future if feasible,†states Houx.
A healthy client list
For a new market entrant the German Cismat GmbH has contracted a remarkable number of air freightcarriers so far. The list includes TAP Portugal, Royal Jordanian, Iraqi Airways,Afghanistan’s Ariana and Madina Airfrom Libya, making it five altogether.This customer portfolio demandsincreased national and internationalpresence. That’s the basic idea behindthe Indian joint venture with partnerAllied Aviation Ltd.
“The Indian market is quickly recovering which offers us plenty of business opportunities,†exclaims Houx. To add to that he is in advanced discussions with a number of European airlines and carriers from the Middle East on becoming their cargo GSSA. “Negotiations are quite advanced and will be concluded by mid-January latest,†he says without revealing names.
Cismat GmbH also intends to increase its reach within the German home market with new offices in Hamburg and Munich standing on next year’s agenda. These stations will mainly support the TAP flights via Lisbon to Latin America and Angola. According to Houx the Portuguese carrier will add a second weekly freighter flight from Frankfurt to Lisbon beginning 15 January. On both round trips an Airbus A300B4 freighter will be deployed.
Royal Jordanian is another interesting carrier serving mainly the Levant region, Middle East and parts of North Africa, especially Khartoum and Tunis. The airline deploys an A310 freighter five times per week between Brussels and Amman and also serves Frankfurt and Munich with passenger aircraft.
Rebuilding means importing
A third mandate airline is Kabulbased Ariana that lands twice a week with A310 passenger equipment at Rhine-Main airport. “Afghanistan is a highly interesting import market for almost every commodity,†states Houx.
So too is war and terror ridden Iraq that needs every external support the country can obtain to rebuild its crippled economy. Iraqi Airways is playing a major role in these plans as it slowly stretches its reach by setting up a regional and international network. The first intercontinental destination to be served was Frankfurt with a leased Airbus A300B4 freighter landing 12 December. “We loaded four armoured Mercedes limousines for the Iraqi government onboard the aircraft together with 30 tonnes of other shipments,†recalls Houx.
The route Baghdad-Frankfurt will be regularly served two times a week by A300F, he confirms. Owner of the freighter is Sharjah-based Rus Aviation that entered in a joint venture with Iraqi Airways to re-establish civil aviation after the long-time grounding of the national carrier’s fleet.
The latest Cismat client is Libyan cargo carrier Madina Air that deploys twice weekly A300 freighters between Tripoli and Vatry in France.
“The GSSA job is a highly challenging business around-the-clock and personally much more rewarding than running a small and quiet upper class hotel on Sri Lankan’s coast,†concludes Houx. Sounds like he didn’t regret having opted for cargo and against a tranquillife under palms.
