Vol. 8 No. 30 WE COVER THE WORLD Wednesday March 11, 2009 ![]() |
Q & A With
QR Cargo's Vikram Singh
Doha Exclusive—Vikram
Singh is Qatar Airways vice president of cargo. Right now the Doha-based carrier
is involved in an aggressive plan of moving to new markets despite the worldwide
slowdown. We wonder what is driving these moves and what lies ahead?
You are opening one of
the longest (distance) air cargo/passenger routes in the world during a time
of continued economic challenge.
What led QR to this decision and what has been
the reaction from the marketplace? How much cargo can be carried directionally?
Also describe the sales-service and marketing set up in place to support this
USA initiative.
Services have been
planned to Houston for sometime and delayed until March this year. This is an
exciting new destination for Qatar Airways linking two oil & gas producing
parts of the world. The reaction from the marketplace has been very positive.
For Cargo, we envisage strong loads in both directions,
with the advantage through the Doha HUB of offering connections from / to the
USA, ISC, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. So we are not reliant on the one-trade
lane.
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The flight is operated with one of Qatar Airways’ new
B777-200LR aircraft - the final passenger loads will determine the cargo payload
but we expect to have between 5 - 18 tonnes.
Our sales activity will continue with Air Logistics
under the management of our Regional Cargo Manager for the USA, Charlie Storcks.
Houston is our 3rd USA gateway, adding to New
York and Washington, so the USA is becoming an important revenue region for
us.
Will Qatar Cargo open all-cargo services elsewhere during 2009?
Qatar
Airways Cargo has undergone a massive expansion with its freighter network and
increased the number of destinations it serves from 10 to 19 over the last two
years. Currently, we have three A300-600F flying to the following destinations:
Algeria, Amsterdam, Bahrain, Cairo, Chennai, Colombo, Delhi, Dhaka, Dubai, Frankfurt,
Istanbul, Karachi, Khartoum, Lahore, Luxembourg, Nairobi, Milan, Sialkot and
Tunis.
The freighter network is under continual review
as we look for new opportunities and more profitable routes. The airline will
shortly be announcing new routes that will open up new markets for us. We like
to have flexibility in our operation so that we can quickly react to any change
in the market dynamics.
The arrival of QR Cargo’s first two B777F’s
in 2010 will bring an added dimension to our freighter network allowing us to
introduce new long haul destinations to the freighter network to support our
A300-600F aircraft. Our initial planning is a combined freighter network using
both the B777’s and A300-600F’s. The future of A300-600F after the
arrival of the other B777’s into the fleet will be dependent on the market
dynamics at the time.
What other combination cargo/passenger destinations are to be added in
2009?
Qatar
Airways has several new routes planned for 2009, starting with the introduction
of our third connection to the United States. The airline is expecting aircraft
deliveries from Boeing at an average of one a month for the rest of the year,
which will provide exciting opportunities to add capacity to existing key routes
and also give us the scope we need to launch new routes.
In the last two years, Qatar Airways has increased
its route network by 20%, growing from 70 destinations in 2007 to currently
serving 83 key cities worldwide. By the end of 2009, we expect this number to
be nearer to 90. On top of this, Qatar Airways Cargo operates a dedicated freighter
network to 19 destinations.
How important is air cargo to the growth of Qatar Airways? - What percentage
of overall throughput does air cargo represent?
Cargo
is an important contributor to the overall success of the Qatar Airways Group.
According to IATA, internationally cargo represents around 10% of industry revenues
and will continue to grow globally by 5% per year to 2011.
In this region, the growth will be much larger
as the Middle East continues its development into a freighting hub between East
and West.
Why should a shipper utilize Qatar Cargo, considering the many options
and services already in place? What does QR bring to the table? What is your
vision and mission?
Qatar
Airways Cargo provides cargo services to over 100 destinations worldwide using
the cargo space available on the Qatar Airways’ passenger aircraft fleet
of 67 aircraft and three dedicated Airbus A300-600 freighters. Its network provides
a global reach for customers in Africa, Europe, UK, USA, Middle East, South
East Asia, North Asia and South Asia, with services to many destinations in
each of these countries. As Qatar Airways grows its global reach, the services
provided for Qatar Airways cargo customers will increase from both frequency
and new destinations.
Qatar Airways Cargo has made substantial investments
in its Doha hub, with dedicated staff and facilities to ensure all transships
are processed in an efficient, seamless manner. Special transship facilities
are used for products requiring additional attention like perishable, high value
commodities and live animals. We are very proud of the Hub performance with
our flown versus booked record over 98% most weeks.
In a recent customer survey our customers recognised
Qatar Airways Cargo as a quality airline and rated us highly for "flown
as booked".
So you ask what does QR bring to the table
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Our vision is to become an increasingly
recognised world-class air cargo service provider with global reach and through
concentrating on quality, reliability and network coverage.
What is the absolute top priority for you right now?
To
monitor the market(s) pricing and capacity so we can react quickly to take advantage
of any opportunities or take corrective action with any downside. We believe
that 2009 will be a defining year for players in the industry and we are confident
Qatar Airways Cargo will make a positive impact.
How
did you start in this business?
I
began my airline career in 1992 with KLM Cargo in India where I worked in Calcutta,
Chennai and Delhi. Experience ranged from Cargo Ops, Sales and management including
setting up stations till 1996. Moved out of India in 97 and into the passenger
business in sales and regional management roles in Abu Dhabi and Iran till 2000.
With KLM's Alitalia JV moved to Africa to manage sales and marketing on the
continent. In 2003 moved to the Netherlands to head up B2B Marketing and later
to manage KLM's Global Accounts business and merged it with Air France in 2006.
Was made responsible for Customer Management for KLM in 2006. In 2007 I moved
into a Business Innovation-Corporate Strategy role till I left to join QR Cargo
and got back into Air Cargo. Notably, in 1996 I had a brief stint with a freight
forwarder, before I switched to the passenger airline business, which gave me
valuable insight of the forwarding world.
When you joined Qatar Cargo tell me what surprised you?
I
have been pleasantly surprised with the world-class air cargo hub we operate
here. It is definitely one of the best-kept secrets in international air cargo.
If there were a couple or even one thing about air cargo that you could
change what would it be?
The
industry needs more transparency. More transparency will bring value-based pricing
and innovation to the entire supply chain. The Internet can and must play an
important part here.
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Julian
Calls It
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Publisher-Geoffrey Arend • Managing Editor-Flossie
Arend • Advertising Sales-Judy Miller
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