Deccan Cargo's global ops put on hold for now

G R Gopinath, who kickstarted his Deccan Cargo air services during May earlier this year, has put the international operations of the cargo ariline on hold even as the domestic operations kickstarted this week.

Deccan Cargo & Express Logistics kickstarted its international network on the Delhi-Mumbai-Chennai-Hong Kong route and was also connecting to Dubai. However, with cargo loads not reaching expected levels and having to recalibrate the network, the company has put its overseas network on hold for a while.

Gopinath confirming that the international operations have paused, said: “We will operate those flights from our hub at Nagpur to Hong Kong, Dubai and Singapore after couple of months after establishing the domestic network.”

Gopinath, who pioneered the low-cast carrier model with Air Deccan, operates express logistics venture under the brand Deccan 360, and aims to provide end-to-end logistic solutions to corporate customers.

Deccan 360 will provide service to various industry verticals - pharmaceuticals, machinery, manufacturing, retail, electronics, textiles, banking and others.

Deccan 360 is envisaging to connect not only the metro cities but also the Tier-I and Tier-II cities to India’s trade network. In the first phase of operations Deccan 360 aimed to connect Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai with domestic markets and also with the Asian business hubs — Hong Kong and Dubai. Deccan had earlier stated that it has set up its capabilities to provide overnight deliveries from south China through Hong Kong to major markets in India, namely Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and to Dubai the gateway to Middle East, on the same day.

Deccan 360 operates three A310 cargo and three ATR aircraft for its operations which are being pressed for stabilising domestic network

The Indian logistics industry is severely limited in terms of reach and infrastructure and Deccan 360 aims to bring in efficiency to the supply chain which is the backbone of economic growth and also to connect India’s hinterlands and production areas with major domestic and global markets.

Deccan 360 envisages to deliver cargo in a day cross 75 cities in India creating access and growth opportunities for Indian industries, entrepreneurs and agriculture.

According to Gopinath warehousing, logistics and transportation comprise around 28 per cent of the total cost of manufacturing in India, which he plans to bring down by 12 per cent. Deccan 360 will operate on a hub-and -spoke model and has roped in Jude Fonseka, who has had 21-years of experience with FedEx, has been appointed as CEO of Deccan 360.

Gopinath had earlier stated that the operations may break-even in 18 months and was targeting revenues of $50-70 million in the first year of operations. Gopinath will be pitching Deccan 360 against established players including DHL, Blue Dart, Gati, TNT Express and First Flight.