SpiceJet takes delivery of first freighter as it prepares for cargo flights
10 / 09 / 2018
Low-cost Indian airline SpiceJet has received its first freighter aircraft as it prepares to launch operations on September 18, according to local reports.
According to The Hindu Business Line, the carrier will launch with two Boeing 737-700 freighters, eventually adding two B737-800Fs.
Services will operate between Delhi and Bengaluru, with the carrier also considering connections to Amristar, Kabul and Hong Kong. The airline will operate with the name SpiceXpress, while the first aircraft has been given the name Bolt.
The air cargo market in India is expected to grow by around 60% over the next five years, but past attempts to launch freighter operations in the country have proved difficult.
Several airlines, such as Air India Cargo and Deccan, Quikjet have tried to launch Indian freighter services in the past but only Deutsche Post DHL’s JV Blue Dart, which has a fleet of six B757Fs, has endured.
However, times are changing in India as the government’s ‘Make in India’ campaign hopes to encourage foreign companies to set up production lines in the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government hopes that by 2022 manufacturing output will represent 25% of the country’s GDP.
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