Deccan 360 in tie-up with MRO firm

Deccan 360, a cargo airline and express logistics company, has entered into a 10 year contract with Lufthansa Technik, a Euro 5 billion MRO company of German aviation group, Lufthansa, for supply of components for its Airbus A310 freighter aircraft fleet. In addition to this, Deccan 360 has also contracted Lufthansa Technik Services India for complete warehousing requirements.

Announcing the deal, at a press conference, here, G R Gopinath, chairman and managing director, Deccan 360 said, “We have started our international cargo operations with one wide-bodied Airbus A310 aircraft, connecting India to Hong Kong and Dubai. We will be taking delivery of two more aircrafts in the next six months. Our network requires a support system for supplying components for our fleet and this pact is a step towards that.”

The 10-year total component support (TCS) with Lufthansa Technik also involves repair and overhaul for its Airbus 310 freighter fleet. Lufthansa will procure home base components for Deccan Cargo and Express Logistics and lease them to the airline. In addition, the company will also make available local storage capacity for components earmarked for Deccan 360’s fleet of Airbus A310s and ATRs. The company is in the process of acquiring 6 ATRs later this year to start its domestic express service, Gopinath said.

Its range of services will also cover formalities of customs clearance, storage of components, including stock control, and handling of inquiries.

Deccan 360, which commenced its cargo operations about a month ago, currently operates twice a week flight between Delhi to Hong Kong and Delhi to Dubai.

Today and tomorrow, it is starting service between Dubai to Hong Kong and Chennai to Hong Kong respectively. By the end of its first year of operations, the company aims to achieve a turnover of $70 million, Gopinath said.

Wolfgang Weynell, vice president-marketing and sales, Lufthansa Technik, said, Lufthansa Technik, in 2008, generated a sales revenue of close to Euro 60 million from India and expects to garner equal revenues this year also, he said. the company, which started its operations in India about three years ago with a small warehouse in Mumbai, shifted to a 4,500 sq ft warehouse at Bangalore International Airport in May 2008. The warehouse has a stock of $50 million worth of components currently in India. Its clients in India include Jet Airways, Kingfisher and Alliance Air, apart from other international airlines operating into India.