Indian Airlines (IA) is planning tostart a dedicated freighter service fromJuly, the chairman and managing director,Dr V. Trivedi, said "We are likely tocall the new operations Indian cargo.The launch of the new service will notaffect the ongoing merger process.When the merger process gets underway,Indian cargo can be merged withthe new entity," Dr. Trivedi said. The airline has already announcedthat it would be launching the freighterservice by converting five Boeing 737-200 aircraft into … [Read more...] about INDIA: IA’s ‘Indian Cargo’ from July

Air Canada has announced plans to discontinue its daily flights to India starting in May, citing insufficient demand for the route. Canada's leading carrier currently offers one daily flight from Toronto to New Delhi, with a stopover in Zurich, but it has been unable to break even on the route, particularly during the summer. "Our financial goals were not met because of the seasonal nature of traffic to New Delhi, which did not enable us to maintain profitable occupancy levels … [Read more...] about INDIA: Air Canada to end daily flights to India

South African Airways (SAA) and Air Mauritius have reached a code-share agreement on the routes between Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town and Mauritius. This new agreement is in addition to SAA's present daily flights between Johannesburg and Mauritius. SAA operates between Johannesburg and Mauritius seven days a week, while Air Mauritius operates five times to and from Johannesburg, twice a week to and from Cape Town and Durban respectively. A key focus for SAA is to expand its route … [Read more...] about AFRICA: SAA & Air Mauritius team up

The US Eximbank will lend US$400 million to help Vietnam Airlines purchase four Boeing 787 aircraft, state media said, in what would be the first US loan to Vietnam after Hanoi secured its WTO membership. Vietnam won a formal approval from the World Trade Organisation to become its 150th member in early 2007. In June 2005, the airlines signed a contract to buy four 787 ¡°Dreamliner¡± aircraft worth around $500 million at list prices for delivery in 2009 and 2010. Vietnam Airlines … [Read more...] about VIETNAM: Exim loan for Vietnam

Logistics operators in Thailand have warned that operating costs will soar 80 percent if cargo handling is to be duplicated across two airports with the reopening of Bangkok¡¯s Don Muang Airport. A spokesman for the Thai Airfreight Forwarders Association, Kovit Thanyarattakul, was reported saying that the move late last year to the new Suvarnabhumi Airport had already resulted in 50 percent added costs for operators. He said that processing times at Suvarnabhumi ranged from four to … [Read more...] about THAILAND: Bangkok cargo cost warning

The Japan Airlines (JAL) Group has announced the appointment of Takao Fukuchi as executive officer, cargo and mail from April 1. He will also take on the role of senior vice president, cargo and mail subject to the approval of the shareholders AGM which is to take place in late-June this year. He will succeed Yutaka Yoshino who is retiring from March 31. … [Read more...] about JAPAN: JAL appoints new cargo chief