Air India Eyes Dedicated Freighter Airline

Air India continues to undergo a massive overhaul of its business, focusing on turning around its fortunes.

As part of major investments from Tata Group’s new ownership, the strategy is expected to move towards responding to areas experiencing growth.

The Economic Times reports that Air India wants to consolidate cargo operations to streamline its business further.

If this consolidation were to occur, Air India would launch its own freighter company that would strictly operate dedicated freighter planes.

The air cargo market, which surged during the COVID-19 pandemic and following, has plateaued, but that hasn’t stopped businesses from pouncing.

Tata states that the air cargo market continues to be a positive area that it believes is worth exploring.

The belief is that launching a dedicated freight airline would allow the chance to capitalise on the market and boost the economy alongside key trade activities.

While the launch of a dedicated freighter airline may seem groundbreaking, it does align with Tata Group’s direction since taking over the troubled carrier.

This strategy has focused on consolidation and streamlining any elements of the business that can be done. Most notably, the passenger airline network has seen consolidation, and that’ll be most evident when Vistara merges with Air India, hopefully by the end of the year.

For the prospective dedicated cargo division, the pandemic showed many airlines the benefits of diversifying their business and having different means to operate from passengers.

Most of these passenger airlines already specialise in transporting goods between certain markets, and if executives analyse this further, there very well may be an appetite to enhance this with dedicated freighters rather than a small amount of restricted space below the cabin that is forced to conform to a passenger flight schedule.

These initiatives, which are not to be confirmed but rather considered, are why Tata Group’s role thus far in overhauling Air India has been praised; while there’s much work to be done, these positive steps to identify potential gaps in the market can be huge for long-term future success.