New Delhi, Feb 19: EL AL Israel Airlines is planning to start cargo operations from India. It has also requested for grant of traffic rights for a third stopover flight to Tel Aviv from Mumbai.To begin with, the Israeli national carrier will start accepting freight on its two existing stopover passenger flights out of Mumbai. Depending on the market response, the airline would actively consider starting a dedicated cargo flight between Tel Aviv and India later this year, Michael Steinman, general manager incharge of India, Sri Lanka and Nepal of EL AL, told The Financial Express here on Wednesday.
According to sources, the airline is in the last stages of procuring various permissions before it could start offtaking cargo in a few weeks. It has also applied to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for permission to install a highly advanced decompression chamber at Mumbai airport at a cost of over $1 lakh.
The chamber, the size of a room, simulates flight conditions, thus eliminating the needof long cooling periods.
Though it washed its hands off the previous general sales agent a few months ago for its passenger operations and opened its own office in New Delhi last month, EL AL is keen to appoint a GSA for its cargo operations once the permissions come through, according to Steinman, according to the sources.It may also enter into pacts with some other airlines and trucking companies to pick up freight from other parts of the country, he said.
El Al presently operates two passenger flights between Hong Kong and Tel Aviv with a stopover at Mumbai.
It has another stopover flight which emanates from Bangkok and makes a technical landing at Mumbai. The El Al airline has requested the Indian aviation authorities for permission to grant it traffic rights for this third flight from Mumbai, the sources said.
Industry sources point out that this is probably in view of Air India's impending decision to pull out its two flights to Tel Aviv due to unsatisfactory passenger load factors. Accordingto the present bilateral agreement, the Israeli carrier had been granted three flights from India, one from Delhi and two from Mumbai. It pulled out of the Delhi route a few months back citing reasons of economy.
Its decision to enter the cargo business will benefit the exporters of the two countries tremendously, in view of the rise in Indo-Israeli bilateral trade in last three years. ``We will offtake every freight item and offer efficient, reliable and safe service and our fares will be quite competitive vis-a-vis other carriers,'' Steinman claimed.
After six months, the airline will appraise the response and consider whether to start a direct cargo flight.
While El Al will offer the most natural choice to Tel Aviv, it will also accept cargo for the United States and western European countries, many of which have good connections from Tel Aviv, Steinm informed.
In addition, El Al will soon announce a travel agent link-up scheme to further boost tourist passenger traffic from India.
Thesairline, El Al, will facilitate a link up of Indian travel agents with Israeli tour operators, besides giving them professional assistance to introduce and sell Israel's tourism product.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
