Malaysia Airlines eyes growth in cargo business

With the easing of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) norms on textiles and other commodities in the next two weeks, MASkargo, the cargo subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, has growth plans for India. It is considering to introduce freighter aircraft in India.

"With MAS operating from 100 destinations worldwide, we hope to capture eight per cent of the Indian market by 2007. We may introduce freighter aircraft in India, but not immediately. At present, our focus will be on commencing direct operations from more Indian cities," Nick Phang, general manager, sales, Malaysia Airlines, said.

The cargo business in India is expected to grow by 12 per cent to 15 per cent in the post quota regime.

MASkargo operates across six continents and manages one of the most advanced air cargo terminals at Kaula Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

Malaysia Airlines also provides cargo management facilities to meet the needs of its partners, which include over 18 international leading airlines in the world.

Recently, the airline introduced its maiden thrice-weekly return direct flights between Ahmedabad to Kaula Lumpur. Each flights from Ahmedabad will have a capacity of carrying cargo of 10 tonnes, which will enhance the cargo capacity of Malaysia Airlines by 30 tonnes per week.

For freighter services, Malaysia Airlines has eight Boeing B747-200 series aircraft.

With the continued growth of MASkargo's operations and increase of passenger uplift of 31 per cent, Malaysian Airlines generated a revenue of Malaysian Ringgit (RM) 5.2 billion for the half year ending on September 30, 2004.

The sustained global growth is also witnessed in the Indian market with the airline registering a 15 per cent growth in revenue over the previous year.