Category Archives: Aviation

Vipin Vohra, Chairman, Continental Carriers, says, “In the year 2024, we will maintain a forward-thinking approach and adapt to changing market conditions and customer expectations. We will persist in collaborating with customs at the highest echelons to hasten the deployment of customs officers at our Air Freight Station. We plan to further expand our ‘Warehousing’ vertical with ‘State of the Art’ facilities, on pan India basis. We will fortify our ties with existing clients while forging new partnerships through implementation of CRM system which will facilitate the tracking of client interactions and preferences, enabling the provision of personalized services.

Ayesha Katgara, Head – Corporate Strategy, Jeena & Company shares, “In 2024, we are brimming with optimism as we spot potential in contract logistics, warehousing & distribution, and pharma logistics. We are actively expanding our footprint in India with strategic expansions in our Coastal vertical and geographical diversification.” She adds, “2023 has been a transformative year for the ever-evolving Indian logistics landscape. The sector witnessed a rise in investment – within the country and outside. The warehousing sector experienced a boom as new facilities came up to address the need for storage. Amidst this dynamic environment, Jeena & Company explored new arenas in defense and automotive sectors. We experienced the transformative power of technology by introducing a CHA software built on AI to improve efficiency.”

Fletcher Samuel, Senior Manager – Cargo Business, Bangalore International Airport (BIAL) highlights, “The Indian air cargo industry is going through an exciting phase. With the government taking a keen interest in the sector and India’s Young Logisticians geared up to innovate and propel change, 2024 looks promising. At BLR Airport, we are further working towards consolidating our position and the brand image of BLR Cargo in the industry. Our aim is to emerge as the ‘New Gateway To India’ and BLR Cargo plans to develop a comprehensive logistics hub that will take us closer to our goal. This logistics hub will offer robust infrastructure that will cater to the burgeoning demand in the Air Cargo sector, that’s expected to witness a surge of 6 million MT by 2030. With Government of India’s National Logistics Policy aiming for a 10 Million MT growth by 2030, we at BLR Cargo are preparing and getting ready to deliver world-class experiences for all our customers and stakeholders, contributing to the dynamic growth of Air Cargo in the country.

Xerrxes Master, President, Association of Multimodal Transport Operators of India (AMTOI) says, “In 2024, the logistics industry is poised for transformative shifts driven by sustainable practices, widespread technology adoption, and accelerated digitization. The integration of eco-friendly initiatives will redefine supply chains, emphasizing sustainability. In 2024 the shipping industry will grapple with reduced demand and more supply, potentially leading to fierce competition and reduced profits and possible mergers and acquisitions. Although container schedule reliability is improving, persistent challenges will remain. Rates will remain low for the first 9 months of 2024 with the potential for growth and return with a true big shipping season in quarter four. However ongoing global disruptions such as the Israel –Palestine and Russia-Ukraine conflicts could create fluctuations in oil prices and in market rates as the year progresses.

Ramesh Mamidala, Head- Cargo, Air India, shares, “I expect the industry will go more than above average this year in proportion to the GDP of the country. I am also expecting that the concerned regulators help the industry with the growth of transshipment volumes by easing the much sought after and long-awaited regulatory changes and automation of current paper-based approval process. I also look forward to manufacturing for export friendly policies to further bolster the growth of export volumes in the country. Looking forward to further policy changes related to single bond for use of bonded trucking by airlines and revisit of GST policy for airfreight, in line with global practices.”

C K Govil, President, The Air Cargo Agents Association of India (ACAAI) shares his outlook for 2024, “After a lukewarm 2023, we are quite hopeful for 2024, expecting a growth of around 4.5% for the global air cargo industry. We saw global air cargo capacity surpass the pre-covid levels in April 2023. 2024 will give us an opportunity to be a part of India’s success story of becoming one of the global superpowers, driven by a young population, an increased demand for exceptional logistics services, and technological advancement in supply chain management with a prime focus on sustainability and efficiency in the transportation industry. Besides, I feel factors like climate change and artificial intelligence will drive many of our everyday decisions. Now, the industry needs to grab the opportunity and be part of the India’s success in becoming number two globally with the young team of population and with increased demand for logistics services potential advancement in technology for supply chain management, a focus on sustainability and efficiency in the transportation industry.”

Pranav Agarwal, Head of Supply Chain Solutions & IT at Rhenus Logistics, shares his outlook for 2024, “At Rhenus, the growth strategy for 2024 is intertwined with customer-centricity and technological innovation. Our focus has always been to provide our customers with integrated logistics services there by creating an ecosystem for suppliers, vendors, and partners. Leveraging our system integration capabilities and strong business processes, we can provide our customers with predictive analytics, real time visibility across supply chain events, purchase and indent order management systems, real time track and trace and so on. The outlook is to harness digital platforms to streamline operations and improve client interaction, ensuring seamless, transparent communication. We will also embrace cloud technologies for scalability and agility. The outlook includes fostering strategic partnerships and exploring new market segments. These steps aim to solidify Rhenus Logistics as a leader in innovative, customer-focused logistics solutions in the rapidly growing Indian market.”

SkyDrive Inc., a leading Japanese eVTOL aircraft manufacturer based in Japan has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation (TiHAN) Foundation, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (“TiHAN”) to collaborate on unmanned drone technology to expand the drone market in India. With the mission of “taking the lead in the once-in-a-century mobility revolution,” SkyDrive is developing accessible eVTOL aircraft for daily passenger transportation and heavy-lift drones for cargo transportation. Indian Institutes of Technology Hyderabad (“IITH”) has been consistently ranked in the top 10 institutes in India for Engineering according to the National Institutional Ranking Framework (*2) issued by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, and top-notch engineers conduct research on cutting-edge technologies. SkyDrive will be collaborating with TiHAN, India’s first autonomous navigation testbed facility at IITH for developing and carrying out activities related to heavy-lift drones. Explaining TiHAN-IITH efforts in Autonomous Navigation, Professor P. Rajalakshmi, Project Director, said, “TiHAN IIT Hyderabad is excited to announce a strategic partnership with SkyDrive Inc. to collectively develop and execute activities about heavy lifting drone technology. This partnership marks a significant step forward in the advancement of drone capabilities, focusing on the design, development, and deployment of innovative heavy-lifting drone solutions.” India faces various challenges in its land-based logistics system and the development of drones as a new means of logistics holds significant meaning. With a shared goal of creating a market for logistics drones in India, the two parties will be sharing expertise and exploring the market opportunities. This collaboration was possible with the support of Suzuki Innovation Centre (SIC), a collaborative initiative between Suzuki Motor Corporation Japan (SMC) and IIT Hyderabad with a mission to build …

Global air cargo demand increased three per cent in December compared to December 2022, according to the latest Air Freight State of the industry report by DHL Global Forwarding. Despite a slight increase in output price inflation observed in November 2023, it remained among the lowest levels seen in the past three years, contributing to an environment of relative stability. “PMI index increased to 50.4 in November from October’s 50.0, indicating a slight revival in production growth. Global demand remains low, leading to a decline in demand-driven price pressures towards their long-term average,” the report added. The report emphasises an upswing of 10 percent in air cargo capacity compared to December 2022. The growth is attributed to a 17 percent increase in passenger belly cargo capacity. However, certain regions experienced capacity constraints during Q423 due to higher seasonal demand, resulting in industry backlogs.

Global average air cargo rates are now 50 percent above their pre-Covid levels following the significant rebound in the last few months in demand and pricing, especially ex-China, according to the latest figures from WorldACD Market Data. Preliminary figures for week 50 (December 11-17) indicate that global tonnages and average worldwide rates have been stable compared with the previous week after recovering more quickly than last year from the seasonal post-Thanksgiving dip last month based on the more than 400,000 weekly transactions covered by WorldACD’s data. “Comparing weeks 49 and 50 this year with the preceding two weeks (2Wo2W), overall tonnages increased one percent and overall global average rates continued to rise, by two percent, with capacity up one percent. The figures indicate that demand and pricing are levelling off, as they usually do in the second half of December, after rallying in the last three months. Although the main driver for the recent increases has been a surge in tonnages and rates ex-Asia Pacific, especially China, volumes ex-Asia Pacific have now flattened although there have still been some modest rises in average rates ex-Asia Pacific, especially to North America (up four percent), on a 2Wo2W basis.” Tonnages to and from North America, and in some cases prices, have continued to recover in the last few weeks after dropping significantly for much of this year, especially outbound, the update added. “Notable tonnage increases in the last two weeks from North America include to Asia Pacific (13 percent), Europe (12 percent) and Central & South America (11 percent).”