Earlier the cargo to Dhaka from Kolkata went via Singapore and hence, this would reduce both time and cost for the company.
"The Blue Dart Aviation would run a direct flight to Dhaka in two months time and this would help bringing down our cost by atleast 20 per cent in addition to the transit time," said Craig Grossgart, vice president, DHL Express (India) Pvt Ltd.
According to the company this would be passed on to the customers implying a lower product cost. "Earlier we coudn't compete with the unorganised nature of the sector in this part but now we can compete with anybody, as the pricing would be more competitive," he claimed.
Subsequently the company plans to venture into the other SAARC nations as well particularly in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
"We would definitely like to be a first mover in the virgin territories of the region," he added. Accordingly, the company is in the process of designing a Intra-SAARC product which would be multi modal in the sense that it would use both air and surface network.
As of now the product is being tested on a pilot basis and the product is expected to be launched in a months time. In order to facilitate better functioning the company today inaugurated a 16000 sq ft, new state-of art facility at Kolkata.
"This facility at Kolkata would be a hub to tap market of Bangladesh. The trade between India and Bangladesh is estimated to be around 1.4 billion euro and 66 per cent of it are related to relevant to DHL," said Grossgart while talking with the media.
Meanwhile, Blue Dart has decided to add one more Boeing 757 cargo aircraft to its fleet
by the end of this year. Currently the company has seven aircrafts out of which three are Boeing 737 with the rest being Boeing 757.
"We are planning to add one more Boeing 757 by the end of this year and also upgrade all the 737 versions with 757 ones," said Ketan Kulkarni, head, marketing, Blue Dart.
DHL Express which holds 81 per cent stake in the Chennai-based air cargo company, has made a total investment of $300 million in the last four years in the country.
