resurgence of air logistics in india - acaai...

Voice of Indian Air Cargo Industry

Vo l 8 - I ssue 1 | JAN - MAR 2017

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“Air CArgo Community SyStem to StreAmline Air logiStiCS”

Page 4

“FoStering ChAnge”Angela Gittens, Airports Council International

0

Air LogisticsResurgence of

in India

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special reportAir CArgo Community SyStem to StreAmline Air logiStiCSOne of the key initiatives set by National Civil Aviation Policy 2016 was creation of an Air Cargo Community System to ensure global competitiveness and sustainable growth of Indian air cargo industry. A committee was subsequently formed and recently submitted a report on National Air Cargo Community System

interviewleverAging Airport inveStment to drive growth

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OFAir CArgo AgentS ASSoCiAtion oF inDiA

(ACAAi)

ACAAI OFFICE BEARERS

PRESIDENTHemant Bhatia

VICE PRESIDENTT A Varghese

SECRETARy GENERAlSunil Arora

TREASURERM Afzal Malbarwala

EDITORReji John

[email protected]

ASSISTANT EDITORSSurya Kannoth

[email protected]

Rashmi Pradhan [email protected]

CORRESPONDENTSTwinkle Sahita

[email protected]

Shreya Bhattacharya [email protected]

MARKETINGVikas Khadtale

[email protected] Mobile: +91 9820397514

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERPrasad Mohite

GRAPHIC DESIGNERRajesh Mhapralkar

DISCLAIMERViews expressed in the magazine

are not of ACAAI

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ContentsVOL 8 - ISSUE 1 • JAN - MAR 2017

interviewFoStering ChAngeACI’s Director General, Angela Gittens talks about ACI’s mission, the challenges that the industry faces, thegrowing cooperation between governmentsand the industry

The recently concluded second annual Airport Council International’s ‘Investing in Airports’ conference witnessed several high-profile speakers from the aviation sector deliberate at length on economic regulation, privatisation of the airport industry, and lessons learnt from other regulated industries

FrAport ConneCtS CArgo StAkeholderS At Auto SCm Summit 2016 in indiAThe maiden AUTO SCM Summit played a perfect platform to bring together stakeholder from across the globe to network and discuss business

event 16

CollAborAte to improve eFFiCienCieSoF Flower trAnSportAt the first edition of Flower Logistics Africa 2016, the key takeaway was to collaborate with every stakeholder in the flower supply value chain to reduce cost and improve efficiencies of flower transport.

event 18

reSurgenCe oF Air logiStiCS in indiAThe 43rd annual convention held at Athens was attended by over 150 delegates. The convention was a great platform for knowledge sharing, interacting and networking for ACAAI members. ACAAI News presents the highlights of the convention

cover story

23 indiA SignS open SkieS Agreement with Six CountrieS

news

Countdown beginS For ACA 2017The global air cargo community will come together at Air Cargo Africa 2017 in Johannesburg to discuss ideas that will help the industry deal with current challenges.

preview 12

From the President's desk

The 43rd annual Convention of The Air Cargo

Agents Association of India (ACAAI) which

was held at Hilton Hotel, Athens, Greece

from November 16-19, 2016 was the first ever

ACAAI Convention to be held in Europe, and

thus became a landmark Convention. The theme was

“Resurgence of Air Logistics in India”. The Ambassador of

India to Greece M Manimekalai was the Chief Guest and

inaugurated the Convention on November 16.

An ‘Open Skies Agreement’ has been signed recently

between India and Greece, whereby the air traffic rights

between the two countries has been enhanced. This

development has the potential to boost bilateral trade,

which is currently miniscule. The Ambassador and her

team at the Embassy of India at Athens are focusing in

a major way on promoting Indo-Greek trade and

commerce relations.

Dr Rakesh Singh, Chairman, Institute of Supply Chain &

Management gave the Keynote Address. His address

dealt with strategy, its elements and importance, mission,

values, vision, the global dynamics and the world

economy, strategic imperatives, planning, etc. His talk

was greatly appreciated by all the delegates, and it set

the tone of the proceedings at the subsequent business

sessions of the Convention.

Hemant Bhatia President

Air Cargo Agents Association of India

(ACAAI)

GST to bring radical change in business

The business sessions focused on stimulating topics

pertaining to the revitalisation of air cargo in the context

of global recession, its impact on Indian exports and

adapting to change for prosperity. There were a number

of panel discussions in which the deliberations pertained

to the rules, regulations, processes, reforms, etc. which

are essential for securing the air cargo supply chain, the

importance of synergy between the airlines and the

forwarders, the critical role of technology driven processes,

the challenges and the vision required of managements

vis-a-vis the service quality and the involved costs. These

sessions essentially delved upon the current economic

scenario globally and in India, and their impact on the

freight forwarding industry.

The choice of Athens as the venue of this Convention was

quite timely and appropriate in the context of the possible

expansion of air services between India and Greece. The

city of Athens still retains many of its ancient monuments

and rich heritage and culture of the great Greek civilisation

of the past. Over and above the business aspects, the

Convention delegates also had an opportunity to see

and experience its unique legacy, as well as to take in the

natural beauty of the famous islands of Greece.

In the global context, connectivity by air is now possible

to virtually every nook and corner of the world. The global

markets of the new century are highly dynamic and their

requirements should be fulfilled almost instantaneously.

In this context, the air freight industry alone can meet the

need for speed in the transportation of goods expeditiously

from any country to any part of the globe as per the specific

requirements of each and every market.

In India, Goods and Services Tax (GST) is currently being

regularly deliberated in the GST Council for finalisation of

all the details. Once this legislation is implemented in 2017,

the dynamics of business in India will be altered radically

through the creation of a single market pan India. This

pathbreaking legislation will have a positive impact on the

economy of India. Despite the anticipated slowdown of the

Indian economy during the next one or two quarters due

to the recent currency demonetisation, a growth rate of

around seven per cent during the current fiscal will still be

the highest globally.

The year 2017 is likely to herald more changes in India and

globally. We hope that the New Year will be a year of growth

and prosperity for our industry and our country.

JAN - MAR 2017| www.acaainews.com 3

JAN - MAR 2017 | www.acaainews.com4

sPecial rePort | air cargo

Air Cargo Community System to

streamline air logisticsOne of the key initiatives set by National Civil Aviation Policy 2016 was creation of an Air Cargo Community System to ensure global competitiveness and sustainable growth of Indian air cargo industry. Air Cargo Community System is a single window platform to facilitate seamless movement. A committee was subsequently formed and recently submitted a report on National Air Cargo Community System. ACAAI News presents key findings and highlights of the report


India is one of the fastest

growing economies of the

world and Indian air cargo

sector is poised to undergo

significant growth in the coming

years. Air cargo logistics plays a

paramount role in the economic

development of a country.

Countries with one per cent

better air cargo connectivity

engage in six per cent more

trade. According to World

Bank’s Logistics Performance

Index (LPI) 2016, India jumped

19 places and ranked 35 in 2016

as against 54 in 2014. The LPI

is an interactive benchmarking

tool created to help countries

identify the challenges and

opportunities they face in their

performance on trade logistics

and what they can do to

improve their performance. It

is a matter of great importance

to India as better performance

in logistics not only boosts

initiatives like Make in India, by

enabling India to become part

of the global supply chain but

also helps to increase trade.

This situation could be further

improved by enhancing the

processing of EXIM trade by air

at the gateway airports of the

country.

The air cargo logistics

industry has several

stakeholders viz. exporters,

importers, freight forwarders,

customs brokers, customs,

security agencies, airlines,

airports, ground handling

agents, bonded truckers,

transporters, ramp agents,

courier and express operators,

chambers of commerce

etc. Currently, there is lack

of efficiency, transparency

and consistency across the

supply chain, which results in

several pain areas for different

stakeholders. The information

exchange is many-to-many

resulting in complex/duplicate

processes. Further, there is a

lack of uniformity for message

interface, a lack of data

harmonisation, and a lack of

end to end tracking.

Understanding the need for

having a single window for

air cargo community which

will interface with Indian

customs single window and

facilitate seamless movement

of goods and information,

Ministry of Civil Aviation

(MoCA) constituted an Air

Cargo Community System

(ACS) committee drawing

representation from all

stakeholder groups. The

committee was constituted

under the chairmanship

of Dr Renu Singh Parmar,

Senior Advisor, Ministry of

Civil Aviation to examine the

desirability and feasibility

of ACS, to deliberate on

the ownership of ACS and

management thereof, to

estimate the funds required, as

far as possible.

eliminating duplicate data

entry, reducing unnecessary

paperwork by giving authorised

access to data to the relevant

supply chain stakeholder

and bringing in supply chain

visibility thereby reducing

inventory and other transaction

costs related to air cargo

movement.

The Committee recommends

that Single Automated System

for Collection and Dissemination

of Information via interfaces with

existing systems be used for ACS.

In this model, there is a single

system that collects, converts

and disseminates digital data

about shipments and the

data has to be submitted only

once by trade which gets

"This electronic platform can allow the reusability of data thereby eliminating duplicate data entry, reducing unnecessary paperwork by giving authorised access to data to the relevant supply chain stakeholder and bringing in supply chain visibility thereby reducing inventory and other transaction costs related to air cargo movement"

Dr renu Singh Parmar ministry of Civil Aviation

ACS is a single window

electronic platform of all

stakeholders of air cargo

value chain to interact with

each other digitally thereby

eliminating unnecessary

documentation, delays,

opaqueness of supply chain

and improving ease of doing

business for the air cargo sector.

Recently, the ACS committee

has compiled a report based on

consultations with these groups

across several meetings.

In order to facilitate ‘ease of

doing business’, it is recognised

that an electronic platform

be put in place to digitise key

stakeholder interactions. This

electronic platform can allow

the reusability of data thereby

sPecial rePort | air cargo


disseminated. The existing

systems can be interfaced in this

model and new requirements

would be built-in/integrated

directly in ACS.

The platform should be web

based. The platform needs

to have features to allow the

forwarders and customs brokers

do their process automation

and do the digitisation of

shipment data. The report also

mentioned that the platform

must support industry standard

messaging like IATA CARIMP,

UN EDIFACT, WCO, ICEGATE.

To minimise the change for

most of the stakeholders, the

platform needs to have standard

interfacing with stakeholders’

systems. Cargo terminal

operations system should also

be an optional module of the

ACS for the new Cargo Terminal

operators, if required.

OwNersHIP ANd mANAgemeNtThe Committee recommends

Public Private Partnership

(PPP) model for ownership

and management of ACS. It

will be owned by a Special

Purpose Vehicle (SPV) formed

with 51 per cent stake with the

Government. Ministry of Civil

Aviation, Ministry of Commerce

and Ministry of Finance may

jointly hold this ownership. The

remaining 49 per cent stakes

may be distributed amongst

airport operators (AAI/MIAL/

areas of interaction with other

partners in the supply chain.

ACS addresses the key issues

of higher logistics costs due to

lack of shipment visibility for

the shippers. For example, an

importer importing raw material

for manufacturing needs

visibility of import shipment.

If the shipment doesn’t reach

in time then a stoppage of

assembly line could result in

losses of millions of rupees

per hour to the importer.

To avoid this, the importer

may resort to stocking more

inventory which also results

in higher inventory costs.

Better visibility of shipments/

supply chain leading to lower

inventory costs. Proactive

alerts on shipment milestones

resulting in avoidance of

penalties and demurrages.

Better cash flow management

for duty payments due to

better visibility. Efficient

digital communication with

forwarders/customs house

agents reducing papers, faxes,

phone calls. Better audit trail of

interactions with agents.

wAy fOrwArdThe Committee recommended

to first select a competent

consultant. This consultant will

work along with the core

Committee to select the system

operator. It is proposed that ways

and means of leveraging the

existing cargo community

systems with extensive features

as a framework for creating the

national single window are

explored. It may be noted that a

lot of work has been carried out

with a number of user groups

across the air cargo value chain

in terms of understanding their

needs as well as enabling early

adoption. It would be ideal to

take this forward so as to

maximise adoption and usage in

the air cargo Industry. After

successful implementation of

International Air Cargo

Community System; the platform

can be extended to domestic

and courier operations.

DIAL/BIAL/HIAL etc.) and other

stakeholders like associations

etc. The SPV shall appoint a

competent service provider to

setup the system/infrastructure

and operational management

of the system. Stakes in the SPV

can be given in lieu of upfront

investments by each party with

an agreed cap on shareholding

on individual entity in order to

have balance in the structure.

System selection, operation,

pricing shall be governed by core

committee with representation

from Ministry, airport operators,

trade associations (ownership

agencies). System shall be

maintained and operated by

competent agency appointed

by core committee/governing

council with long term

commitment. The present ACS

Committee shall continue to

work till the roll out of the ACS

and be treated as the Core

Committee.

fuNdINg The ACS will be a very critical

system for the future of air

cargo growth in India. The

implementation of the same

shall be well planned and shall

be done in phases. The system

shall be made self-sustaining

and the mechanism/modalities

for the same may be decided by

the Core Committee/Governing

Council. A reputed consultant

with requisite experience of

Indian/global air cargo industry

may be hired to prepare a

Detailed Project Report (DPR)

and based on the agreed

scope of services, the funds

requirements shall be identified.

BeNefItsHighlighting the benefits of

ACS, the report suggested

that ACS shall be designed

with participation of pilot

forwarders, carriers, custodians

and with inputs from other key

elements in the supply chain

such as Indian customs. The

system is targeted towards

helping the supply chain

participant overcome the pain


event | aci investing in airports

Leveraging airport investmentThe recently concluded second annual Airport Council International’s ‘Investing in Airports’ conference witnessed several high-profile speakers from the aviation sector deliberate at length on economic regulation, privatisation of the airport industry, and lessons learnt from other regulated industries

suryA KANNOtH

Angela Gittens, ACI World; Arun Mishra, ICAO; Stephen Perkins, ITF at the OECD; AK Pathak, Airports Authority of India at the opening ceremony

Girish Shirodkar, Strategy&; Rajani Khetan, ClSA; Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad bin Abdul Majid, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad; Suzanne Tong, ACI Asia- Pacific discuss capacity challenges at major Asian airports

Stefano Baronci, ACI World makes the closing remarks

The case for investing in airports still remains

a strong one. While financing airport

infrastructure has been challenging for many

countries, the involvement of private players

has grown significantly over the years.

The recently concluded second annual Airport

Council International’s ‘Investing in Airports’ held

at the plush Planet Hollywood Beach Resort in Goa

from December 6-8, 2016 featured sessions and

panel discussions where high-profile speakers from

the global airport fraternity deliberated at length

on economic regulation, the investment horizon

and the state of the airport industry, privatisation

of airports in India, lessons from other regulated

industries among others.

At the conference organised by ACI in

cooperation with International Civil Aviation

Organisation (ICAO) and the International Transport

Forum (ITF), Angela Gittens, director general, ACI

World, in her opening remarks, made the case for

“fostering the right environment for investment

in airports and ensuring that regulation evolves in

step with the industry for a sustainable future with

to drive growth


the ability to accommodate

growth in the demand for air

service.”

“While growth is expected

to remain solid in mature

markets over the medium

term - most notably in North

America and Europe - most

of the growth is forecast

to come from emerging

economies. For the aviation

community to overcome this

challenge, investment in airport

infrastructure and ground

access will be necessary,”

she said.

“The underlying question

is who will bear the cost?”

asked Gittens. “Despite good

intentions on the part of

national regulators, there are

regulatory frameworks that

create disincentives for private

investment and the sustainable

development of airport

infrastructure.”

Highlighting India’s

national civil aviation policy,

Gittens said that India is a fast

growing country and that other

countries are keenly watching

India’s expertise in managing its

aviation policies and regulatory

framework. She further stressed

upon the fact that investment

in airport infrastructure is of

paramount importance.

In his keynote address,

Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez,

general director, SENEAM

and Lifetime Goodwill

Ambassador of ICAO pointed

out that the growth in the

APAC region places increasing

pressure on the existing

aviation infrastructure. “The

growth in aviation traffic

requires better use of existing

infrastructure and inevitably

the development of new

infrastructure. There could be

constraints on the availability

of space to meet future

demands. Bringing private

investments, business reforms,

private financial initiatives,

public-private partnership will

facilitate more sophisticated

range of revenue streams for

fosters the sustained finance

of infrastructure and capital

investments.

A special presentation

was made by Sidharath

Kapur, president (finance

and business development),

airport sector, GMR Group,

which emerged the highest

bidder for Mopa Airport for the

development and operation

of Mopa Greenfield Airport

in North Goa. “Going forward

we expect a steep ramp-up in

traffic till FY26, as airlines move

from Dabolim to new Mopa

Airport,” he said. The airport

will be operational by FY2021.

Arun Mishra, regional

director of the Asia Pacific

region of ICAO; Stephen

Perkins, Head of Research and

Policy Analysis of ITF, Dr Harry

Bush, independent advisor

and former group director

economic regulation of the

UK Civil Aviation Authority

also highlighted some key

economic characteristics

of the airport industry.

Delegates also witnessed

technical presentations on

the importance of sustainably

accommodating growth in the

demand for air service.

The conference ended with

closing remarks by Stefano

Baronci, director of economics,

ACI World, who stressed upon

the need for optimisation

of existing infrastructure

at airports with equal

involvement of airport co-

ordinators, airlines, airports and

States. “There is no one-size-

fits-all formula, and in general,

it is important to contextualise

regulations in a specific market

while ensuring a level playing

field,” he said.

Baronci further added that

intervention on the part of the

regulator should be minimal

which will help airports and

airlines to engage in more

commercial interactions.

“Economic regulations should

better reflect and anticipate

market dynamics. In particular,

airport competition has been

increasingly involving both in

terms of scope and intensity.

This may imply moving

towards less economic

regulation whenever supported

by airport market power. Thus,

the regulator should intervene

only when necessary and

intervention should be

proportionate to the problems

identified. This would

incentivise airports and airlines

to engage in more commercial

interactions allowing to work

out the best solutions to the

challenges that ultimately they

hope to face together,”

he concluded.

Amber Dubey, KPMG; PS Nair, GMR Group; S. Machendranathan, AERA and Rajeev Jain, GVK discuss the current process of privatisation in India

investors and stakeholders. More

importantly, value creation of the

improvement of the quality of

services are cornerstone for many

of these initiatives,” he said.

Gonzalez spoke about the

rich experience that India has

in building infrastructure on

the PPP model. In his view,

it is important for private

investors to have flexibility to

allow them to operate in the

competitive environment with

an expectation of reasonable

return for the risk they are

taking. “One also needs to take

a close look at the modern

authority or regulator should

play to ensure prosperity in a

viable way and to benefit the

end user. Inorder to get a win-

win situation, we need to work

together,” he affirmed.

The two-day conference

held a session on the current

process of privatisation in

India. The session, moderated

by Amber Dubey, partner

and head for aerospace and

defense, KPMG India with an

eminent panel of speakers

including PS Nair, CEO-

Corporate, Airports Sector,

GMR Group; Rajeev Jain, CEO,

GVK and S Machendranathan,

chairman, AERA opened up

an interactive discussion

with delegates on whether

India’s economic regulation


FosteringchangeAirports Council International (ACI) was formed in 1991. Its mission is to promote the collective interests of the world’s airports and the communities they serve, and promote professional excellence in airport operations and management.

As of January 2017, ACI serves 623 members operating 1,940 airports in 176 countries. ACI consists of a World office in Montreal and five Regions: Africa; Asia-Pacific, which includes the Middle East; Europe; Latin America-Caribbean; and North America.

ACI’s Director General, Angela gittens, has been a harbinger of change. Gittens, who began her tenure in 2008, has served on numerous aviation industry boards and committees including the FAA Management Advisory Committee, the FAA Research, Engineering and Development Committee, the National Civil Aviation Review Commission among others.

During the ACI Investing in Airports conference held in Goa in December, Gittens spoke to surya Kannoth on ACI’s mission, the challenges that the industry faces, the growing cooperation between governments and the industry and more...

interview | angela gittens


Looking back at the 25

glorious years of ACI and

your long standing career,

how has ACI evolved and

have its missions been

accomplished?

The biggest change over

the last 25 years is that

airports have become busi-

nesses in their own right.

Originally, they were public

infrastructures which pro-

vided a place for other busi-

nesses to do business.

Now it is up to the airport

to make sure that air services

are provided to their commu-

nities. Airports not only have

to plan the facility but also

the operation. They also have

to care about the passenger

journey on the ground. But

the customer wants the same

treatment that the customer al-

ways wanted. So, someone has

to step in to provide that level

of customer service again.

For ACI, what that has

meant is that we have to

serve our members. Today

our members are interested

in data and benchmarking

their airport service quality.

ACI provides these kind of

products and services to serve

our members.

Our voices also had to get

louder because of grow-

ing pressures, particularly

economic ones. This is one

of the reasons that ACI World

moved to Montreal so we

could engage more with the

International Civil Aviation

Organization (ICAO).

Issues of safety have be-

come more important as pas-

senger traffic has grown, and

in the emerging economies

where most of the growth is

taking place, more attention

is paid to the areas of safety

and security. ACI has instituted

programmes to directly assist

airports in a range of dimen-

sions with safety being the

most important.

With the growth of the

industry, who is going to

manage and operate these

airports? The fact is that we

have more airports now and

bigger ones at that. Also, the

generation that was doing

management and operation

are starting to retire. We need

more people because the

industry is growing. Hence,

training has become more

desirable and more critical.

Therefore in 2006, we started

the Global Airport Manage-

ment Professional Accredita-

tion Programme (AMPAP) with

ICAO and that has certainly

grown, as well as training in

every discipline within the air-

port business. As the industry

evolves, ACI evolves.

what are some of the

biggest challenges that the

industry is facing in terms

of airport security?

The threat is always evolving.

Unlike safety where there is risk

and the challenge is to mitigate

that risk to avoid danger, with

security, the risk is constantly

changing. All threats don't go

away and new threats come

along so you have to con-

stantly adjust and adapt, and

we in the airport sector are

almost completely dependent

on governance.

The other big challenge for

governance is the ability and

willingness to share informa-

tion with each other. Aviation it

is all about connections. Right

now, we have certainly seen

evidence of the evolution in

threat, which is not specific

to aviation, but obviously you

have to be part of it.

Have governments become

more co-operative with the

industry over the years?

The level of co-operation is def-

initely improving. It is a tricky

situation because governments

have a bigger agenda than

just security in terms of their

relations with each other. But

I do see more sharing and

trying to work more with the

industry. A lot of governments

do recognise that they have

to work with the industry in

order to actually mitigate the

threat because it has been so

dispersed. It is different from

say a war between one country

and another. These are indi-

viduals who sometimes don't

seem connected, they may be

influenced but not necessar-

ily controlled by other bodies.

So, it is a lot more difficult

to discern, recognise and do

something about it.

Are you satisfied with

the current level of

engagement between ACI

and the regulators?

In terms of safety, yes. I think

the industry has done an

excellent job in its history with

respect to safety. Working

together, sharing data and

having a spirit of collaboration.

We need to get to that in other

arenas. It has worked in certain

arenas such as safety, but we

are not there yet. You still have

silos, you still have one party

trying to gain advantage over

the others, however, you don't

have that in safety. In safety,

the concept is we all win or we

all lose. And we need to start

maintaining that mentality in

the other areas, for instance,

on the economic side. That's

why we are having this confer-

ence (ACI World’s Investing

in Airports). It is not just how

regulations should be done

but what regulation is even

about.

what, according to you,

needs to be done to

improve the value chain of

air cargo?

We are still in the infancy stage

of sharing data and collaborat-

ing. We have security issues,

customs issues, plain logistics,

and economics. And I think

air cargo is still a siloed area.

I don't think airports work

enough with the air cargo side;

some airports do but it is such

a back of the house operations

in many places. At the airports

where you have significant

amount of cargo, you see

much more interaction. But

when it is belly cargo, it is

very difficult for the airport to

play a positive role. I think the

overall industry needs to get

its act together.

what are some of the

bottlenecks plaguing

airport infrastructure?

Money and community rela-

tions are the major hurdles for

improving airport infrastructure.

Also, noise is still the biggest

impediment to airport develop-

ment. Airports, airlines, aircraft

manufacturers and govern-

ments are spending billions

of dollars to reduce the noise

footprint. I think that we need

to deal with noise, not just from

the physical or engineering

standpoint, but beyond that.

How is ACI and airports

synergizing to achieve

green sustainable aviation?

We, as an industry, have devel-

oped targets for ourselves for

reducing our carbon footprint

proportionately as we grow.

We are very happy that

ICAO at the global level has

approved a methodology for

helping us get to that target. I

think we are definitely on our

way - there is a difference

however in having a target

and actually achieving it. A lot

of things have to be done

from the airport side - there is

the Airport Carbon Accredita-

tion programme, which help

the airports measure and

reduce its carbon footprint; we

have a tool called ACERT,

which provides reports to

airports that may not have an

environment to measure its

carbon footprint, greenhouse

gases etc. We now have

participating airports covering

over a third of the passenger

population and that grows

every year. We have sustain-

able development in our DNA

now and we are completely

focused on planning, design,

and operations.


Preview | aca 2017

The fourth edition

of exhibition cum

conference ‘AIR

CARGO AFRICA’,

themed ‘Airfreight in Africa

- Building tomorrow’s

market today’ will witness

participation from the global

air cargo community at

large to explore and tap the

enormous potential within the

emerging markets of African

continent.

The event, organised by

the STAT Media Group, will be

held from February 21-23 in

Johannesburg, South Africa.

South African Airways Cargo

is contributing to the event as a

key sponsor for the third time.

“We are excited once again

to enter into a partnership

with STAT Trade Times after

the success of the previous

conferences and exhibitions.

We look forward to making a

contribution to a discussion

focussing on Africa’s economic

growth prospects,” said Tleli

Makhetha, general manager,

South African Airways Cargo.

“The event plays an

important role in the

development of airfreight in

Africa. The interaction between

the various role players helps

to highlight opportunities that

are available and how each

one can make a contribution to

Countdown begins forAir Cargo Africa 2017The global air cargo community will come together at the most awaited trade event ‘Air Cargo Africa 2017’ in Johannesburg, South Africa to discuss ideas that will help the industry to deal with current challenges such as low yields and over capacity. The conference sessions will also bring to the fore variety of much discussed subjects such as e-commerce, technological innovations that will potentially transform the future of the industry. Alongside this, representatives from high yield shippers/exporters are also set to take centre stage at four exclusive air shippers' forums.

twINKLe sAHItA

Glyn Hughes of IATA

Soomi Ro of UN


the growth of the industry. As a

major role player in the region

we are duty bound to make

sure that we make a significant

contribution,” adds Makhetha.

The global air cargo industry is

currently facing challenges such

as low yields and over capacity.

The conference sessions will be

based on variety of these subjects

currently concerning the industry

and also provide insights into the

future of air cargo. The sessions

will also will demonstrate how

factors such as technological

day of the event and provide

an ocean of opportunities

for logistics providers to

enter the refrigerated

transportation market

in Africa given that the

continent needs better

perishable supply

chain services.

The conference

programme has attracted

industry stalwarts as speakers

including Glyn Hughes,

Global Head of Cargo, IATA;

Michael Steen, Executive VP

and Chief Commercial Officer,

Atlas Air Worldwide; Nils Pries

Knudsen, Head of Global

Cargo, Swissport International;

Rainer Muller, Vice President-

Commercial, Saudia Cargo;

Sanjeev Gadhia, Founder & CEO,

Astral Aviation; Conrad Archer,

Country Manager Director,

Panalpina Airflow, Kenya;

Ulrich Ogiermann, Chief Officer

Cargo, Qatar Airways; Peter

Musola, AG, General Manager

Cargo, Kenya Airways; Joscha

Kremers, Officer-in- charge,

United Nations; Meshack

Kipturgo, Managing Director,

Siginon Aviation; Bongiwe Pityi,

General Manager, OR Tambo

International Airport among

others.

Worldwide Flight Services

(WFS) and Africa Flight Services

(AFS) will be hosting ‘Welcome

Reception’ on February 20 for

the air cargo community.

One of the integral parts of

every AIR CARGO AFRICA edition

is the STAT Times International

Award for Excellence in Air

Cargo which is organised on

the evening of the second day.

Air Cargo Africa 2015

gathered a record number of 80

International Exhibiting

Companies, 527 global industry

decision makers as registered

delegates and brought in an

impressive number of 2915 trade

visitors from across 29 African

countries and 32 countries from

other continents to explore

business prospects.

innovations mainly Data

Analytics, the Internet Of Things

(IoT), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

(UAVs) popularly known as

drones and e-commerce boom

will prove to a be a game

changer for the industry.

Following the success

of round table discussions

that saw participation in huge

numbers from the shippers and

the logistics service providers,

the event this year will feature

four air shippers’ forums. The

objective is to give a platform

for the shippers to meet with

other links in the supply chain

and address the challenges

faced by them.

The Pharma Air Shippers

Forum, hosted by Brussels Airport

on the first day of the event, will

be attended by logistics and

supply chain heads of major

pharmaceutical companies.

Frankfurt Airport is

sponsoring the Air Shippers

Forum on automotive cargo.

The session will be held on

second day of the three day

event and will be one of the

four commodity specific

logistics conferences that the

fourth edition of Air Cargo

Africa is rolling out this year.

Another highly talked about

topic humanitarian aid will be

discussed at the Humanitarian

Aid Air Shippers Forum on

day two of the event and is

sponsored by Liege Airport.

The Perishables Air Shippers

Forum will be held on the first

JuStin BowmanCEO, Air Charter Serviceat Air Cargo Africa 2015 in Johannesburg

I think Africa is going to be a land

of tremendous opportunity for the next 10, probably 20

years.

The interaction between the various role players helps to

highlight opportunities that are available and

how each one can make a contribution to the growth of the

industry.

tleli makhethaGeneral Manager South African Airways Cargo

Venue:

Organised by

J O H A N N E S B U R GS O U T H A F R I C A

Book Now !Limited space- unlimited opportunity!

diamond SPONSOR

platinum SPONSORS gold SPONSOR

other SPONSORsSILVER SPONSOR

RAINER MULLERSaudia Cargo

CONRAD ARCHERPanalpina Airflo Ltd, Kenya

TLELI MAKHETHASouth African Airways

Cargo

RISHI RAMRAKHAInternational Federation

of Red Cross and Red Cresecent Socities, Nairobi

TEWOLDE GEBREMARIAM TESFAY

Ethiopian Airlines

VINEET MALHOTRAKale Logistics Solutions

SLAVEY DJAHOVPanalpina World Transport

(Dubai) DWC LLC

TOM CRABTREEBoeing Commercial

Airplanes

MUSA ZWANESouth African

Airways

HALIT ANLATANTurkish Airlines

SHAHE OUZOUNIANChapman Freeborn

Airchartering

JACOB MATTHEWNational Air Cargo

GEORGES BIWERAirBridgeCargo

MARCEL FUJIKEGlobal Air Logistics

Kuehne+Nagel

JOSCHA KREMERSUnited Nations

(Procurement Division)

OLIVER EVANSMatternet

ULRICH OGIERMANNQatar Airways

MESHACK KIPTURGOSiginon Aviation

GLYN HUGHESIATA

MICHAEL T. STEENAtlas Air Worldwide

Titan Aviation Holdings, Inc.

NILS PRIES KNUDSENSwissport International Ltd

SANJEEV S GADHIAAstral Aviation Ltd

PETER MUSOLAKenya Airways

BONGIWE PITYIO.R. Tambo International

Airport

For Booking, Contact : [email protected] [email protected] stattimes.com/ACA2017 @AirCargoAfrica

…expect more

SpeakerS include luminarieS of the induStry

PRINCIPAL MEDIA SPONSORS

SUPPORTED BYair shippers forum SPONSORS

PHARMA humanitarian aid

Automotive PERISHABLE

MEDIA SPONSORS

Fraport connects cargo stakeholders at

AUTO SCM Summit 2016 in IndiaThe Indian automotive industry is experiencing an interesting evolutionary phase, the AUTO SCM Summit played a perfect platform to bring together stakeholder from across the globe to network and discuss business. The maiden automotive supply chain summit with its vibrant panel discussions were much appreciated and delegates sensed the need for more such informative conferences for better networking and knowledge sharing.

rAsHmI PrAdHAN & twINKLe sAHItA

event | auto scm summit

l-R: Shailendra Goswami, Roland Weil, Dirk Schusdziara, Rahul Nangare

l-R: Suhail Kazi, Dirk Schusdziara, Pankaj Narang, Reji John

Fraport AG partnered with Indian

Transport & Logistics News

(ITLN) to host the first AUTO

SCM Summit at Chakan in Pune,

India. The conference brought together

numerous supply chain managers of

automotive manufacturers and logistics

service providers, as well as customs

officials to discuss ideas and share best

practices to mutually benefit each other.

The first edition of AUTO SCM

Summit by Indian Transport & Logistics

News (ITLN) held from December 6-7,

2016 at Courtyard Marriott Chakan,

Pune received an overwhelming

response from industry stakeholders.

The event was supported by Frankfurt

Airport and IndoSpace. The theme of

the maiden Summit was ‘Transforming

the future of India’s automotive

supply chain’. The two-day long event

witnessed around 100 delegates

including supply chain managers of

automotive manufacturers and logistics

service providers sharing their views

and experiences about the industry.

The long-term growth story is strong,

but short-term volatility is creating an

environment of uncertainty. India is

the sixth largest automotive producer

in the world (with an average annual

production of 24 million vehicles in

2016, of which 3.6 million exported).

India is the second largest two-wheeler

manufacturer, the largest motorcycle

manufacturer. The automotive industry

accounts for 45 per cent of the country’s

manufacturing gross domestic product

(GDP), 7.1 per cent of the country’s GDP

and employs about 19 million people

both directly and indirectly. By 2026,

India is expected to be the third largest

automotive market by volume in the

world.

The opening address was made

by Rahul Nangare, IRS, Additional

Commissioner of Customs, Jawaharlal

Nehru Custom House, Nhava Sheva.

Nangare mentioned that customs

should not be perceived as a problem.

It is not a road block. He further

said, “We are working as facilitators.

We want shippers to come forward,

interact with us and make the best use

of our recent initiatives. We have also

introduced Direct Port Delivery (DPD),

which will make a big difference.

Customs Department has also

become pro industry like the current


government. Prior bill of entry is what is

going to make a change in terms of

time savings.”

Making an opening remark, Dirk

Schusdziara, Senior Vice President Cargo,

Fraport AG, said, “Efficient supply chain

management is increasingly becoming

a survival factor for the industry. We are

proud to support the first gathering of

this kind. Cooperation between all the

partners in the supply chain is crucial to

remain competitive. Moreover, it helps us

to identify the demands of the industry to

support them wherever we can.”

Germany is India’s biggest trading

partner in Europe. Consequently, India is

also a very important market for Frankfurt

Airport. More than 70 passenger flights

and around 20 freighter services are

operated weekly between FRA and several

destinations within India. In the year to

October 2016, cargo volumes on routes to

and from India increased by more than 20

per cent year-on-year.

The first day deliberated on

transforming the future of India’s

automotive supply chain, future of

India’s automotive export scenario

and challenges ahead; enhancing auto

components supply chain and finished

vehicles logistics. The panelist agreed

that collaboration and digitisation is

the way forward. Goods & Services Tax

(GST) and Single Window Interface for

Facilitating Trade (SWIFT) will be a game

changer. Although infrastructure is a

challenge in India however, investments

in infrastructure in road, rail, sea and air

transport will help to boost the business.

The first session on ‘Transforming

the Future of India’s Automotive Supply

Chain’ witnessed panelist including Rahul

Nangare, IRS, Additional Commissioner

of Customs, Jawaharlal Nehru Custom

House, Nhava Sheva; Dirk Schusdziara,

Senior Vice President, Cargo, Fraport

AG; Shailendra Goswami, Chairman and

Managing Director, Pushkaraj Group. The

session was moderated by Roland Weil,

Vice President, Sales, Cargo, Fraport AG.

Talking about the challenges in

logistics, Goswami said that taxation

and skilled manpower gap are the

main challenges faced by Indian

automotive sector. Another big

challenge is inadequate infrastructure

in India. Investment in road, rail and air

infrastructure is necessary which will

enable ease of movement of goods.

Digitisation of documents will be a big

changer. Echoing the same sentiments,

Schusdziara, said, “Collaboration and

digitisation in air cargo sector will be a

big development.”

The session on ‘Automotive Export

Scenario and Challenges Ahead’ was

moderated by Reji John, Editor, ITLN.

Among the panelist were Rahul Nangare,

IRS, Additional Commissioner of Customs,

Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House, Nhava

Sheva; Amit Borkar, General Manager, SCM,

ARaymond Fasteners; V Athmaraman, Head

of Development and Strategy, Delex Cargo.

The panelists deliberated on the

impact of GST on automotive industry.

In addition, the panel discussed the

impact of government initiative of SWIFT

on India’s automotive sector. SWIFT will

enable ease of doing business, Nangare

informed. Borkar said, “We are investing

in the infrastructure for manufacturing

and supply chain. Right infrastructure

and right process will help to work as

a transparent ecosystem and make

differences. In addition, digitisation

will bring transparency and effective

communication in the system. I see

Industry 4.0 really to be a reality. It is not

just about smart manufacturing, it is also

digital supply chain.” Athmaraman said,

“Infrastructure in India cannot be compared

with other countries including Japan. We

will take time but we are evolving despite

of constraints.”

Panelist for the session ‘Enhancing

Auto Components Supply Chain’ were

Santosh Bhanu, Manager, Supply Chain,

Ford India; Nikhil Khairnar, Sr. Manager,

Logistics and Sourcing, Supply Chain

Management Division, Tata Autocomp

Systems; Pramod Kumar, Head of EDC

Maharashtra & Goa, Gati KWE and

moderated by Muralidhar Wadappi, Head

of Supply Chain Management, Benteler

Automotive India.

The session discussed on how

competitive and prepared are Indian

auto component manufacturers and

their logistics partners to create a more

visible, agile global supply chain. Bhanu

mentioned that two important factor for

development of supply chain is technical

team and timely delivery. Avoiding

ambiguity will ensure smooth flow in the

supply chain. Consolidation is the way

forward but not at the cost of service.

Continuous innovation and improvement

is the key to move forward. Kumar

agreed, “Enhancing the supply chain is

important. Vendor Managed Inventory is

a traditional concept and Vendor Owned

Inventory (VOI) will be the next age

concept. Maintaining service level at the

same time in a cost-effective manner is

the key.”

The final session of the summit

‘Transforming the Future of Supply Chains

Through Disruptive Innovation’ was

moderated by Reji John, Editor, Indian

Transport & Logistics News and among the

panelist were Suhail Kazi, IRS, Deputy

Commission Customs, Pune; Pankaj Narang,

General Manager, Central Purchase, Supply

Chain Management Division, Tata

Autocomp Systems and Dirk Schusdziara,

Senior Vice President, Cargo, Fraport AG.

The session discussed on the new

concepts like Internet of Things, advanced

robotics and driverless electric automobile

and impact of 3D printing on the auto

supply value chain.


event | Flower logistics aFrica

Collaborate to improve efficiencies

At the first edition of ‘Flower Logistics Africa 2016’ held in Nairobi, Kenya, the key takeaway was to collaborate with every stakeholder in the flower supply value chain to reduce cost, improve efficiencies of flower transport and make Kenya a global flower power that sets global benchmarks in production, transportation and distribution.of flower

transporttwINKLe sAHItA

The inaugural edition of Flower

Logistics Africa 2016 (FLA 2016)

held on November 8 and 9, in

Nairobi, Kenya, got to a good

start with Jane Ngige, the chief executive

officer of Kenya Flower Council (KFC)

officially inaugurating the event and

delivering the keynote address calling

industry stakeholders to work towards

making Kenyan flower industry the world

leader in flower export.

The main theme of the event was

“From farm to vase: Building sustainable

cut flower supply chain”. The objective

was to give a platform for the flower

growers and exporters to meet with other

stakeholders in the supply chain and

address the challenges faced by them.

The two-day event, organised by

Logistics Update Africa, a key Africa

focused transport and logistics publication

from STAT Media Group, saw participation

of 95 delegates representing exporters,

service providers, industry organisations

and government.

Ngige said that the Kenya flower

industry need to ensure the ‘A’ quality

flower leaving farms reach consumers in

all destinations as the same ‘A’ quality.

According to Ngige, flowers from Kenya

are going to over 60 different destinations

worldwide. “500 tonnes of flower are

airlifted daily from Kenya,” she added.

Conference participants acknowledged

that there was the stereotype in Europe

about the African flower not being the

best quality. This, according to many

participants, hinders African flower

Chris McLean, Panalpina Airflo; Parit Shah, Silpack Industries; Christo van der Meer, Royal Flora Holland; Joseach Rotich, Chief Trade Development Officer, Govt. of Kenya and Bimal Kantaria, Elgon Kenya.

Jane Ngige


Sanjeev Gadhia John Mungai and J M Mandelbaum

exporters from getting the best

prices at auctions.

The inaugural session

witnessed an objective and

no holds barred discussion

on how to build a sustainable

cut flower supply chain. Ivan

Mbowa, co-founder & CEO,

Umati Capital, moderated the

session. The esteemed panelists

for the session included: Jane

Ngige, CEO, KFC; Sanjeev

Gadhia, Founder & CEO, Astral

Aviation; Jack Mwaura, Group

head of commercial, Siginon

Aviation and Bimal Kantaria,

Director, Elgon Kenya.

“Lack of direct flights to

new markets like America

and transportation of flowers

within Kenya are the other

key challenges,” pointed out

Mwaura. Gadhia also pointed

out major challenges such as

infrastructure, number of stops

before airport, more capacity

than demand while speaking

during the event.

“Many African growers

are at a disadvantage as

compared to their counterparts

across the globe due to poor

infrastructure support here in

Kenya,” said Kantaria.

The second session on the

inaugural day moderated by J

M Mandelbaum, CEO, Steward

Ventures, with panelist John

Mungai, Agronomist, SGS

(Kenya) Food and Life, majorly

discussed how prudential care

make breakthroughs feasible

for individual firms and for value

chain allies.

The discussions came to a

conclusion that breakthrough

can be achieved in delivering

a subsidy from downstream to

upstream, efficient payments,

full value change de-risking.

Kenya has moved to the

branding of Quality Assured

Cementing this idea can be

done by enlisting the buyer to

love the grower.

John Kihia, technical

manager, Oasis Floralife Africa;

Khilan Patel, managing director,

Ever Flora; Matthea van der

Mollen, general manager, East

Africa, Royal Flora Holland and

Jeroen van der Hulst, director/

owner, FlowerWatch were the

panelists for the session on

“Open marketplace vs. auction

houses and its implications on

the supply chain. The session

was moderated by Reji John,

Editor, Logistics Update Africa.

In the last session of the first

day, innovative solutions to

improve the value chain were

discussed. The session was

moderated by Bimal Kantaria,

Elgon Kenya with panelists:

Chris McLean, Customer

Relations and Projects manager,

Panalpina Airflo; Parit Shah,

director, Silpack Industries

and Christo van der Meer,

Sr. consultant, Supply Chain

Innovation, Royal Flora Holland

and Joseah Rotich, Chief Trade

Development Officer (CTDO),

Government of Kenya. “A lot of

growers need to move towards

vacuum cooling which does

wonders for the end product,”

said McLean of Panalpina Airflo.

Joseah Rotich said that

the Kenyan government is

supporting Kenya Flower

Council in trade agreements

with Europe. Kenya will

continue enjoying duty-free

and quota-free access for its

goods to the European Union

(EU) even if neighbouring

countries fail to approve

the Economic Partnership

Agreements (EPAs). While

speaking during the session, he

said that Kenya will, however,

not enjoy other benefits that

come with the EPA until all

East African Community (EAC)

partners ratify the deal.

The second days’ first

session concentrated on

an important topic, “Trade

trade agreements for market

access: the pros and cons for

the flower industry in Africa”.

The panelists part of the

discussion were Jerome Heeve,

director, Aver Flora and Sarah

Wangui, managing director,

Network Airline Services. The

session was moderated by

John Mathenge, executive

director of Federation of East

African Freight Forwarders

Associations (FEAFFA).

“Let us level the playground

and do business together,

we all have a role in ensuring

quality delivery,” said

Mathenge.

The last session of the

two-day event was on “Better

Logistics leads to better

profitability” moderated

by Logistics Update Africa

editor Reji John. The session

featured Ken Mbogo, regional

director for Africa, Saudia

Cargo; Peter Musola, Cargo

commercial manager, Kenya

Airlines; John Kihia, Technical

manager, Oasis Floralife Africa

and Jane Ngige of Kenya

Flower Council.

Flower Logistics Africa

2016 was sponsored by Astral

Aviation, Network Aviation

Group, Saudia Cargo and

AirFrance-KLM-Martinair

Cargo. The event had Kenya

Flower Council (KFC) as its

official partners and Africa

Logistics Network as its

supporting partner.

Commenting on the two-

day event, Ngige said, “We

have planted the seed and

have realized that we all have

a stake in this conversation.

We are looking forward

to future talks. Much work

still needs to be done and

it all relies on collaboration

between all suppliers and

operators in the industry.

We hope that next time this

conference happens again, we

will be looking at milestones

based on discussions we had.”

Ken Mbogo of Saudia Cargo,

said, “We got more than what

we expected.” For Chris

McLean, Panalpina Airflo, the

event “provided a great variety

of panel speakers, well curated

session subjects and a well

managed and close knit

interactive sessions.”


cover story | acaai convention

Resurgence of Air Logistics in IndiaThe 43rd annual convention held at Athens was attended by over 150 delegates. The convention was a great platform for knowledge sharing, interacting and networking for ACAAI members. ACAAI News presents the highlights of the convention

The air cargo industry presents a

wide variety of service providers

coming together to move goods

both domestically and internationally

with a single-minded purpose of faster and

efficient delivery. The air cargo logistics plays

a vital role in the economic development of a

country. Airlines, air cargo terminal operators,

ground handling service providers, integrated

express service providers, forwarders,

domestic cargo transport service providers

and custom house agents are the key players

in the entire air cargo supply chain. The first

ever ACAAI Convention to be held in Europe,

took place from November 16-19, 2016 at

Hilton Hotel in Athens, Greece. The theme

of the convention was ‘Resurgence of Air

Logistics in India’.

The demand for air cargo transportation

has increased significantly over the last

few years, because product life cycles have

shortened and demand for rapid delivery has

increased. The business entities in air cargo

Hemant Bhatia



logistics industry in turn interact with a

number of cross-border regulatory agencies

the principal among them is the customs

establishment. Speedier services in the air

cargo supply chain facilitate large number

of business entities to become more

competitive. Globally, more than one-third

of the value of goods traded internationally

is transported by air and therefore air cargo

industry is considered as a barometer of

Global Economic Health. From the point of

view of airline industry, air cargo services

contribute near about 20 per cent of their

revenue. India’s international air trade to

GDP ratio has doubled from 4 per cent to 8

per cent in the last 20 years.

The 43rd annual convention of ACAAI

delved upon the issues and challenges

faced by the air cargo sector and the way

forward. The convention was inaugurated

by the Ambassador of India to Greece M

Manimekalai. Among the dignitaries present

Sl Sharma and Ramesh Mamidala

M Manimekalai releasing ACAAI Souvenir

l-R: Tushar Jani, Zarksis Munshi, Afzal Malbarwala, Ravinder Katyal, Nikhil Sachdev

Sunil Arora


at the convention were Hemant Bhatia, President, ACAAI;

TA Varghese, Vice President, ACAAI; Sunil Arora, Chairman,

Convention and Secretary General, ACAAI and M Afzal

Malbarwala, Treasurer, ACAAI.

Presenting the keynote address, Dr Rakesh Singh,

Chairman, Institute of Supply Chain & Management

talked about strategy, its elements and importance,

mission, values, vision, the global dynamics and the

world economy, strategic imperatives, planning, etc. His

speech was greatly appreciated by all the delegates,

and it set the tone of the proceedings at the subsequent

business sessions of the convention.

The business session on Revitalizing Air Cargo: Global

Recession was chaired by Hemant Bhatia. Presentations

were made by Dr. Rakesh Singh, Chairman, Institute

of Supply Chain & Management on ‘Impact on Indian

Exports’, Rajesh Nagarajan of Sapthaang Services

made a presentation on ‘Establishing New Equations:

Challenges and Opportunities’. Presentation on ‘Air

Cargo: A Cost Effective& Equitable Product’ was made

by Tulsi Mirchandaney of Blue Dart Aviation and Raajeev

Bhatnagar of Amarjyoti India made a presentation on

‘Adapt to Change for prosperity’.

The business session ‘Securing the Air Cargo

Supply Chain’ was chaired by SL Sharma and among

the panelist were Ramesh Mamidala of Celebi, Samir

Mankad of GSEC, Manoj Singh of MIAL, T Szymczak of

Lodz, Airport and R Bolangdy of Hyderabad Menzies.

The session focussed on infrastructure, processes,

benchmarking - Global Best Practice; rules, regulations,

restrictions and, reforms: AFS/Air Cargo Hub, Temp

Control Supply.

The business session on ‘Airline: Forwarder Synergy’

was chaired by Anand Didwania and among the panelist

were Abhay Pathak by Air India, Satish Lakkaraju by

Agility Logistics, Aditya Vazirani of Robinsons Cargo,

Vipul Bhalla of Oman Air and Vasileios Barmpagiannis of

IFFAG&L. The panelist discussed on how to keep pace

with Indian logistics, role of carriers trade facilitation and

matching supply change, changing face of competition,

utility of customer.

The business session on ‘Technology Driven Process’

was chaired by TA Varghese and among the panelist

were Pradeep Panicker from DIAL, Amar More from

Kale Logistics, Shankar Iyer from Swiss WorldCargo and

Cyrus Katgara of Jeena & Co. The panel discussed the

manual practices to system processes, single window

facilitations, standardised procedures and integrated

industry platform.

The session on ‘The Quality and Cost: The

Management Challenge & Future Vision’ was

moderated by Tushar Jani, Cargo Service Centre India

and among the panelists were Zarksis Munshi of

Dascher India, Loknath Rai, ACAAI, Ravinder Katyal of

DSV Air & Sea, Afzal Malbarwala of Galaxy Freight and

Nikhil Sachdev of Pelican Air.

The three-day convention touched upon all aspects

affecting air cargo logistics and delegates had an

enriching and informative experience at the end of the

convention.

cover story | acaai convention

l-R: Pradeep Panicker, Amar More, Shankar Iyer, Cyrus Katgara

Shankar Iyer TA Varghese


NEWSCOMPAT directs IATA to submit fresh report to CCIAIr CArgO AgeNts

AssOCIAtION Of INdIA

(ACAAI) had filed a complaint

before Competition Commission

of India (CCI) in December 2012

against the anti-competitive

activities and abuse of dominant

position by International Air

Transport Association (IATA) and

its Indian affiliate, IATA India.

CCI had later ruled that IATA

had not contravened any of the

provisions of the Competition

Act. ACAAI therefore filed an

appeal before Competition

Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) in

August 2015 against the Order

of CCI.

Senior Advocate Jimmy F

Pochkhanawalla, instructed

by Vaish Associates, strongly

argued before COMPAT that

CCI’s order is seriously flawed

and should therefore be set

aside as the Director General

(DG), CCI, had not discharged

his statutory obligation to

conduct a proper enquiry into

all aspects of the complaint.

Further, instead of recognising

this, CCI simply accepted the

report of the DG verbatim. It

was argued that IATA comprise

around 260 international airlines

operating globally, and controls

the market in a manner adverse

to competition by virtue of its

dominant position. IATA has

appropriated to itself the right

to accredit air cargo agents in

India as well as in other countries.

Without such accreditation, air

cargo agents are unable to carry

out their business with airlines,

as most airlines globally are

members of IATA.

It was demonstrated that,

contrary to similar rules prevailing

elsewhere, the CASS Rules as

prescribed by IATA airlines are

anti-competitive, being unilateral

and one-sided, and agents have

no say in the same. IATA also

unilaterally prescribes the criteria

for accreditation of air cargo

agents, including the imposition

of many financial terms and

conditions and untenable

penalties. This clearly indicates

abuse of dominant position by

IATA. IATA has also abrogated

to itself the status of a Self-

Regulated Organisation (SRO) in

India without sanction by any

Indian authority.

The two-member COMPAT

Bench, vide its Order dated

November 15, 2016, found

considerable force in ACAAI’s

contention that neither the DG nor

the CCI have applied their mind on

the aspect of abuse of dominant

position by IATA as described in

detail in the said Order. Further,

there is no finding on this

important contention, though it

was raised on several occasions

throughout the proceedings.

COMPAT has set aside the findings

of CCI and has ordered a fresh

investigation by DG of CCI and has

directed the Authority to consider

all contentions raised by ACAAI,

and to submit a fresh report to

CCI within a period of 60 days

from the date of receipt of the

COMPAT order.

India signs Open Skies Agreement with six countriesINdIA has signed Open Skies

Agreement with six countries:

Jamaica, Guyana, Czech Republic,

Finland, Spain and Sri Lanka,

during the International Civil

Aviation Negotiations (ICAN)

2016 conference held in Nassau,

Bahamas from December 5-9.

RN Choubey, Secretary, Civil

Aviation said that the Conference

was attended by 106 countries

out of ICAO membership of 191

countries. India held negotiations

with 17 countries and MoU was

signed with 12 countries. The

major issues resolved at these

negotiations as per the directions

in National Civil Aviation Policy

(NCAP 2016) are:

1. Increase in traffic rights:-

India renegotiated traffic rights

with Oman increasing the

entitlements with 6,258 seats

effective from Summer 2017 as

the existing entitlements were

nearly exhausted. The points of

call remained unchanged.

India agreed with Saudi

Arabia to increase the capacity

arrangement will encourage

connectivity and passenger

travel between India and these

countries.

3. New Air Service Agreements

were signed with Jamaica and

Guyana.

4. Codeshare agreement:- In the

present scenario codeshares

provide seamless connectivity

to the travelling passengers

and make possible connectivity

between far off destinations

not served by direct flights. As

per NCAP 2016 codeshares are

to be encouraged and keeping

this in view, negotiations were

completed with nine countries

to enable the legal framework

between the governments

of these countries to make

possible codeshares between

the airlines of two sides. The

negotiations have enabled

domestic codeshares with

Czech Republic, Portugal

and Malaysia, domestic and

international codeshares

including third country

airlines with Guyana, removal

of restriction of counting of

capacity in case of codeshare

with third country carriers

and domestic codeshare

to additional two points to

Mauritius, codeshare with

third country carriers and four

additional domestic codeshare

points with Saudi Arabia and

Spain and code share with third

country carriers with Sri Lanka.

5. Resolution of other

issues relating to Air Services

Agreement was also completed

with Ghana, Israel, Japan,

Malaysia, Portugal, Hong Kong,

Ethiopia and Bangladesh.

by 8,000 seats per week from

IATA season when Indian

carrier’s utilisation reaches 80

per cent. India also agreed with

Ghana to increase the present

allocation of two frequencies to

seven frequencies per week to

encourage connectivity between

the two countries.

2. Open Skies Agreement

as per NCAP 2016 :- Allows

unlimited number of flights to

six metro airports: Delhi, Mumbai,

Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru

and Chennai, was signed with

six countries: Jamaica, Guyana,

Czech Republic, Finland,

Spain and Sri Lanka. The new


NEWS

SpiceJet inks $22 billion deal with Boeing

Demonetisation pulls down air cargo traffic by 12% in Nov: ICRA

demONetIsAtION drive has

not only affected air cargo

segment leading to a 12 per

cent points slump on a month-

on-month basis but has also

slowed down the passenger

traffic growth in November

from 22 per cent to 19 per cent

in the rest of the year.

Air passenger traffic stood at

22.6 million, exhibiting a growth

of over 19 per cent in November

on a month-on-month basis,

cargo traffic witnessed a

decline of 12 per cent in the

month, while air traffic as a

whole declined 2 per cent.

Even passenger traffic growth

sPICeJet and Boeing signed a

deal for the purchase of up to 205

airplanes. SpiceJet enhanced its

existing order of 55 aircraft with

additional 100 firm B737-8 MAX

and 50 purchase rights for B737-8

MAX and wide-body aircraft. With

this, the total order of 205 aircraft

is valued at $22 billion (Rs 150,000

crores) at list prices.

This order, the biggest in

SpiceJet’s history, ends the era

of turnaround and marks the

beginning of a growth story

for the next decade. This fleet

acquisition provides SpiceJet the

ability to capitalise on the robust

demand forecast in the world’s

fastest growing aviation market.

SpiceJet placed its first

order with Boeing in 2005 for

Next-Generation B737s and

currently operates 32 Next-

Generation B737s in its fleet and

17 Bombardier Q400s.

“Our turnaround story has

been one which has very few

parallels in the world today and

we are proud of it. SpiceJet has

achieved seven consecutive

quarters of profit, highest on-

time performance and lowest

cancellation rates; a record load

factor of over 90 per cent every

month for 20 months in a row - a

feat that has no parallel in aviation

history,” said Ajay Singh, Chairman

and Managing Director, SpiceJet.

“We are honoured to build

upon more than a decade of

partnership with SpiceJet with

their commitment of up to 205

airplanes,” said Ray Conner, Vice

Chairman, The Boeing Company.

“The economics of the 737 MAXs

will allow SpiceJet to profitably

open new markets, expand

connectively within India and

beyond, and offer their customers

a superior passenger experience.”

“We are now in a very good

position to expand our network

and operations which includes

both domestic and international

routes and destinations,” Singh

said.

“The Boeing 737 class of aircraft

has been the backbone of our

fleet since SpiceJet began, with

its high reliability, low operation

economies and comfort. With

the next generation of B737 and

the B737 MAX we are sure that

we can be competitive and grow

profitably,” Singh added.

The B737 MAX incorporates

the latest technology CFM

International LEAP-1B engines,

advanced technology winglets

and other improvements to

deliver the highest efficiency,

reliability and passenger

comfort in the single-aisle

market.

The new airplane will deliver

20 per cent lower fuel use than

the first Next-Generation B737s

and the lowest operating costs in

its class - 8 per cent per seat less

than its nearest competitor.

on a month-on-month basis

tempered to 19 per cent from

over 22 per cent in the previous

month, stated ICRA report.

In contrast to the robust y-o-y

growth in passenger and aircraft

traffic, the year-on-year growth

in air cargo traffic halved to 7 per

cent in November as against 14

per cent in October, the report

added.

During the first eight months

of the current financial year,

passenger traffic has grown 19 per

cent, aircraft traffic has grown by

15 per cent and cargo traffic has

grown by 9 per cent, according to

media reports.

Both domestic and

international cargo traffic

reported a decline on month-

on-month basis in falling by

20 per cent and 6 per cent,

respectively. Moreover, 18 out

of the top 20 airports reported

month-on-month decline in

cargo traffic in the month

under review.

Further, air cargo traffic

reported month-on-month

decline of 12 per cent in

November as against a

9 per cent month-on-month

growth in October.

AJAy SINgH AND RAy CONNER


NEWS

Etihad Aviation, Lufthansa strike codeshare dealetIHAd AIrwAys and

Lufthansa German Airlines, part

of Europe’s largest airline group

has announced the conclusion

of a codeshare agreement. The

wet-lease agreement between

Lufthansa Group and airberlin

in which Etihad Aviation Group

indirectly holds a 29 per cent

stake was also announced.

Lufthansa’s point-to-point carrier

Eurowings and Austrian Airlines,

a Lufthansa Group airline, have

signed an agreement to wet

lease 38 aircraft from airberlin.

33 of these aircraft are to be

operated for the Eurowings

Group, an additional five aircraft

are to be flown for Austrian

Airlines. The agreement has a

term of six years and becomes

effective from February 2017

subject to any regulatory

requirements. The leases have

been agreed at competitive rates.

Under the codeshare

agreement, the German airline

will place its ‘LH’ code on Etihad

Airways’ twice daily non-stop flights

between its home base of Abu

Dhabi and Frankfurt and its twice

daily non-stop services between

Abu Dhabi and Munich, the biggest

city in southern Germany.

The UAE’s national airline

will, in turn, put its ‘EY’ code on

Lufthansa’s long-haul, non-

stop intercontinental services

between its home base of

Frankfurt, the business and

commercial capital of Germany,

and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as well

as Bogota, Colombia.

James Hogan, President and

CEO, Etihad Aviation Group, said,

“We have long seen Germany

as a key strategic market for

Etihad Aviation Group and this

new relationship with Lufthansa

marks the next step in our

commitment to the leading

European aviation group.

Lufthansa is highly respected

globally and I’m very pleased

that we will work together in

the future for the benefit of

our customers. Additionally,

we are, in our role as a minority

shareholder in airberlin, fully

supportive of the separate

agreement reached today with

the Lufthansa Group to wet

lease 38 airberlin aircraft. It is

very clear to us at Etihad Airways

that Lufthansa is a like-minded,

forward thinking organisation

with which we can do strong,

meaningful and mutually

beneficial business.”

Carsten Spohr, Chairman of

the Board and CEO, Lufthansa

Group, said, “We are looking

forward to partnering with

the Etihad Aviation Group.

The wet-lease contract with

airberlin fosters the growth

of our Eurowings Group. The

codeshare agreement of

Lufthansa and Etihad will offer

our customers more benefits

and complement both airlines’

networks. We will consider

extending our cooperation in

other areas.”

Government to spend $10bn on airport infrastructurer N CHOuBey, Civil Aviation

Secretary said that $10 billion

would be spent in the next

five years on development

of airport infrastructure,

addressing a day-long

India Aviation Summit in

Vijaywada. This will enable

the country to become the

world’s third largest aviation

market in next seven years. As

many as 400 unused airstrips

across the country that

had become cattle grazing

grounds, would be brought

back to life.

Choubey said the Civil

Aviation Ministry was

determined to maintain the

“historic” 23 per cent growth

rate achieved in the aviation

sector in the country. “$10

billion would be spent in next

AIr CHArter servICe (ACs),

specialist in aircraft charter has

promoted Dan Morgan-Evans from

London Cargo Director to Global

Cargo Director with immediate

effect.

Speaking on the appointment,

Group CEO, Justin Bowman,

commented, “Dan joined ACS just

over 14 years ago, after working

in the charter industry for an

airline. He quickly worked his way

through several levels of seniority,

before becoming Director of London Cargo in 2011. He has been

intrinsic in developing and refining our methods and has led by

example in his training and mentoring of new staff. Many of our

most accomplished and senior members of the ACS team, both

in our London HQ and internationally, have trained under Dan’s

guidance.

“He has consistently delivered as one of our most successful,

dedicated and busiest brokers and, after six years as Director

of London Cargo, Dan’s new role will see him help to grow our

cargo division globally."

ACS promotes Dan Morgan-Evans to global cargo director

five years to develop airport

infrastructure. Our aim is to

become the third largest aviation

market in the next seven years.

We are determined to stay

ahead of the growth curve,”

Choubey added.

Progressive and proactive

industry-friendly policies played

a significant part in Indian

aviation’s growth story and

not just the fall in fuel prices,

Choubey remarked.


NEWSGaruda Indonesia starts direct services between Mumbai and Jakarta

gArudA INdONesIA, national carrier of

Indonesia, strengthens its global presence

by launching first direct link between

Indonesia and India by operating a new

route from Jakarta to Mumbai. Mumbai

serves as the airline’s first gateway in the

region. The new service will be served

through Bangkok three times a week by the

airline's Boeing 737-800 aircraft. With two-

class cabin configuration, the aircraft can

carry 156 passengers (12 Business Class seats

and 144 Economy Class seats).

President and CEO of Garuda Indonesia,

M Arif Wibowo, commented, “We are very

pleased to be able to add Mumbai to our

extensive global network. There are strong

economic partnerships as well as numerous

social, cultural, and tourism relations

between Indonesia and India, and we

believe this new service will further boost

those activities amongst the two countries,

whilst offering easier access for travelers

between India and Indonesia.”

He continued, “Today, India remains a

partner in growth as well as an important

market for Indonesia, and Garuda

Indonesia’s fights on the Jakarta-Mumbai

route will establish an important direct link

between the two countries in friendship.

We place great belief that the opening

of our service to Mumbai will forge an

even more solid bridge in enhancing the

future partnership between India and

Indonesia, which are now two of Asia’s

new economic powerhouses.”

The opening of Garuda Indonesia’s

flight to Mumbai is part of its international

network development program, especially

in the South Asia region, as well as the

manifestation of the airline’s strong

commitment to continuously support

the Indonesian government’s program

to double the number of international

tourists visiting the country by 2019.

Indonesia is currently one of the largest

markets to India with 350,000 people

currently travelling to the region on both

business and leisure. This new direct

route will not only boost the economic

activities between the two countries, but

also help towards meeting the Indonesian

government's target to increase inbound

tourism to Indonesia from India.

With Mumbai, Garuda Indonesia adds

the Indian subcontinent to its network.

Garuda Indonesia will serve the Jakarta-

Mumbai route via Bangkok route on

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

GVK MIAL wins ‘Air Cargo Terminal’ award at Logistics Asia Awards

gvK mIAL won the ‘Air Cargo Terminal’

award for the year 2015-16 at the 2nd edition

of the Logistics Asia Awards held recently

at The Gujarat University Convention and

Exhibition Centre, GMDC, Ahmedabad. The

prestigious award was bestowed upon MIAL

in recognition of its outstanding performance

in handling and processing of air cargo

volumes at CSIA airport.

This is for the second consecutive year

that MIAL won the ‘Air Cargo Terminal’

award, an honour given to companies for

exceptional performance in the logistics

and supply chain industry. The award was

conferred upon GVK MIAL at the Logistics

Asia Expo 2016, a three-day exhibition that

witnessed participation from Chambers

of Commerce & Industrial bodies from

leading manufacturing states, besides

corporates from India and abroad from

the various sectors.

A preferred destination for air cargo

exports in the western region, MIAL,

recently announced the launch of its

first-of-a-kind cargo terminal in India for

bonded and heavy export cargo. This

new facility is expected to enhance MIAL’s

export handling capacity by adding

300,000 tonnes of cargo per annum.

Currently the air cargo throughput handled

at the airport is to the tune of over 0.7

million metric tons per annum.

M ARIF WIBOWO

GoAir reaffirms its trust in RamcorAmCO systems has been

mandated by GoAir to upgrade

its Ramco Aviation Suite V5.5

to Ramco Aviation M&E/MRO

Solution V5.8. This upgrade will

further automate and enhance

its maintenance functions. The

upgrade will cover modules

for Engineering & Continuing

Airworthiness Management

Organisation (CAMO), Materials

Management, Quality and

Maintenance.

GoAir has been functioning

on Ramco Aviation offering since

2013, when the company went

live on the application in a record

time of 200 days, across 21 base

stations, for its 15 fleet. The

upgrade will additionally help

in simplifying and streamlining

GoAir’s Purchase Operations,

Inventory Operations, Aircraft

Maintenance Execution and

Technical Records keeping.

Designed to be accessible

on cloud and mobile, Ramco

Aviation Software continues to

add technological innovations

with ‘Anywhere Apps’, redefining

the power of Mobility, to

significantly reduce transaction

time both during AOG conditions

and critical aircraft turnarounds.


Air India enhances free check-in baggage on B747 Delhi-Mumbai route

Air India commences direct flights to Pune and Mumbai from Chandigarh

AIr INdIA has now added on

customer delight by allowing

up to 40 kilogram and 50

kilogram of free check-in

baggage for economy and

business class passengers

respectively on Delhi-Mumbai

route. This decision was taken

after deploying Boeing 747

on Delhi-Mumbai route in

December 2013.

Presently, Air India allows

25 kilogram in economy class

and 35 kilogram in business

class of free check-in baggage

on its flights as compared to

15 kilogram offered by other

airlines. Passengers flying on

Delhi-Mumbai route will have

an opportunity to experience

flying the airlines’ legendary

‘Queen of the Skies’.

Two flights that operate on

Mumbai-Delhi route by B747

depart from Mumbai (AI 806

NEWS

mumBAI INterNAtIONAL

AIrPOrt has announced the

launch of its first-of-a-kind

cargo terminal in India for

bonded and heavy export

cargo. The new export facility,

will enhance MIAL’s export

handling capacity by adding

3, 00,000 tonnes of cargo

per annum.

Spread over 7500 square

meters, the state-of-the-art

MIAL unveils new Export Heavy and Bonded Cargo Terminal

facility provides exclusive

handling for Heavy, Odd Size

and bonded cargo. The facility

provides a one stop solution for

bonded cargo handling with

dedicated channel for cargo

admittance, X-ray screening

and palletization. The new

process management deployed,

along with incremental export

capacity, will reduce the dwell

time to a considerable extent.

While the export light

consignments will continue to

be handled at the existing export

terminal, commissioning this

facility will enhance the terminal’s

infrastructure, stimulating further

growth in export volumes at MIAL.

The new facility will

complement the existing

Export Unitization Zone by

increasing efficiency through

faster admittance of cargo, swift

turnaround of vehicles and overall

reduction in handling dwell time

with new process management.

With this additional facility,

Chatrapati Shivaji International

Airport (CSIA) will now have 50

truck docks to serve export cargo.

AIr INdIA has launched

two new direct flights from

Chandigarh to Pune and

Mumbai to boost regional

connectivity. The first ever

flight from Chandigarh to Pune

would connect both emerging

IT hubs and will be a big boon

to industry and passengers

travelling between the cities.

The inaugural flights, full to

their capacity, received good

and AI 888) at 0800 hours in

the morning and 1900 hours

in the evening and arrive in

Delhi 1015 hours and 2105

hours respectively. Two flights

operating on Delhi-Mumbai

route depart Delhi (AI665 and

AI805) at 0800 hours in the

morning and 2000 in the

evening and arrive in Mumbai

at 1005 hours and 2225 hours

respectively.

response from commuters.

Both the flights will run five

days a week that is Monday to

Friday on an A320 aircraft. The

flight, AI 813 will take off from

Chandigarh at 1050 hours and

arrive in Pune at 1320 hrs. The

return flight AI 814 from Pune

will depart at 1400 hours and

land in Chandigarh at 1630

hrs. The flight, AI 642 will take

off from Chandigarh at 1745

hours and arrive in Mumbai at

2010 hours. The return flight AI

641 from Mumbai will depart

at 0720 hours and land in

Chandigarh at 1000 hours.

Last year, Air India placed

Chandigarh on the International

map by commencing the

first International flight from

Chandigarh to Sharjah. Air India

is launching the new flights

under the ‘Connect India’

programme.


NEWS

Jet Airways begins direct daily services: Bengaluru-Colombo and Mangaluru-Delhi

Jet AIrwAys has launched

a daily direct flight from

Bengaluru to Colombo. The

new daily connection will

provide travellers a convenient

link between the Indian IT

hub and Sri Lankan capital.

With the introduction of this

new connection, Bengaluru

will be the second Indian city

after Mumbai to be linked to

Colombo and Jet Airways’ third

daily service to the Sri Lankan

capital.

In addition Jet Airways has

started a new daily service

between Mangaluru and

New Delhi, offering business

travellers from the South Indian

port city and commercial hub,

seamless connectivity with the

national capital.

Jet Airways flight 9W

278 will depart Bengaluru’s

Kempegowda International

Airport at 0040 hrs and arrive

in Colombo at 0210 hrs (Local

Time). The flight 9W 277 will

leave Colombo at 0310 hrs (LT)

to arrive in Bengaluru at 0435

hrs (LT). The airline will deploy a

state-of-the-art Boeing 737-800

Next Generation (NG) aircraft on

this route.

The outbound leg of the new

service, flight 9W 763 will depart

Mangaluru at 0820 hrs and land

at Delhi at 1110 hrs. On its return

leg, flight 9W 764, will depart

Delhi at 1500 hrs and arrive in

Mangaluru at 1750 hrs. The flight

will also facilitate daily cargo

movement between Mangaluru

and Delhi of nearly five tonnes.

Jayaraj Shanmugam, Chief

Commercial Officer, Jet Airways,

said, “Jet Airways is delighted to

launch a direct service between

Bengaluru and Colombo. With

increasing economic activity

between India and Sri Lanka, Jet

Airways realised the gap in the

connectivity and plugged it with

this direct connection.”

Shanmugam, said, “Jet

Airways is delighted to introduce

the new service between

Mangaluru and Delhi. While we

already have one of the most

extensive domestic networks

in the industry connecting 46

cities, we’re constantly striving

to enhance it further for greater

convenience of our guests. Jet

Airways has already established

itself as a prestigious brand

in the competitive domestic

sector and I’m confident the

introduction of the new service

will further cement our place

as the airline of choice in the

Indian skies.”

SpiceJet takes off with AMOS

swIss-As has announced a new

business relationship with low

cost carrier, SpiceJet regarding

the Swiss Aircraft Maintenance

& Engineering System AMOS.

AMOS will be rolled out and

used by over 600 employees in

the technical department of the

airline. Some members of the

SpiceJet technical department

staff are already familiar with

AMOS, which helped the airline

not only during the evaluation

phase, but will also be beneficial

in the future implementation

process.

“India has become a

strategic market for us and,

with SpiceJet on board, we are

proud to continue this Indian

story of success,” stated Ronald

Schaeuffele, CEO, Swiss-AS.

SpiceJet’s Head of

Engineering, Arun Kashyap,

said, “We look forward to

this association with Swiss

AviationSoftware. We believe

that this is the right time for us to

introduce AMOS into our system

as we move towards stabilising

our fleet and are also looking

forward to fleet expansion. AMOS

will not only help us in providing

information for maximising

resource utilisation but also

increase efficiencies in managing

aircraft and its components.”

AMOS will support the

SpiceJet growth strategy.

SpiceJet is excited to start the

AMOS project and the airline

foresees a short implementation

period to benefit from best

practice processes with the

introduction of this software. The

underlying strategy to introduce

AMOS aligns perfectly with the

expected fleet growth at SpiceJet

to support efficiency gains and

improved cost control measures.

SpiceJet will double the

current fleet with the 55 B737

MAX aircraft on order. For the

carrier, implementing a new MRO

software during this challenging

phase will bring efficiency benefits

and allow the existing and new

aircraft to be directly monitored

and maintained in AMOS.

Experience has proven, via the

numerous low cost carriers already

members of the AMOS customer

community, that expansive

fleet growth projects have been

successfully and economically

managed using optimised fleet

management processes.

[email protected] [email protected]/ACI2018

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