newstodate.aero
Nov 6, 2008 (newstodate): SAS Cargo, now online at India's Delhi International Airport after a seven-year pause, is seeing home-bound cargo loads booming.
-With our Airbus A340-200 we can lift 16-18 tonnes of cargo per flight, and we have indeed seen full loads from the first day on the flights from Delhi to Copenhagen, says Nils Pries Knudsen, SAS Cargo VP global sales.
-It is, however, more challenging to secure loads on the east-bound flight as Europe-India traffic is traditionally highly imbalanced.
-Our prime target for export sales to India is the Swedish market that will provide 80 percent of the sales, compared to only some five percent from the Danish market. There is practically no Indian-bound cargo exports from Norway, so the remainder will come from other European markets.
-We are, however, competing with several strong European carriers and somewhat hampered by the fact that our Delhi-flight is so far only scheduled for the winter period while competitors mostly provide full-year services.
-This will be a challenge in seeking longer-term commitments from the market, and will also invariably reflect on the rate level we can obtain, says Mr Pried Knudsen.
During the first half of 2008, the Swedish market generated a total of 6,429 tonnes of IATA export cargo to the South Asian Continent, Denmark generated 1,428 tonnnes, and Norway only 497 tonnes.
-With our Airbus A340-200 we can lift 16-18 tonnes of cargo per flight, and we have indeed seen full loads from the first day on the flights from Delhi to Copenhagen, says Nils Pries Knudsen, SAS Cargo VP global sales.
-It is, however, more challenging to secure loads on the east-bound flight as Europe-India traffic is traditionally highly imbalanced.
-Our prime target for export sales to India is the Swedish market that will provide 80 percent of the sales, compared to only some five percent from the Danish market. There is practically no Indian-bound cargo exports from Norway, so the remainder will come from other European markets.
-We are, however, competing with several strong European carriers and somewhat hampered by the fact that our Delhi-flight is so far only scheduled for the winter period while competitors mostly provide full-year services.
-This will be a challenge in seeking longer-term commitments from the market, and will also invariably reflect on the rate level we can obtain, says Mr Pried Knudsen.
During the first half of 2008, the Swedish market generated a total of 6,429 tonnes of IATA export cargo to the South Asian Continent, Denmark generated 1,428 tonnnes, and Norway only 497 tonnes.