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.

     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

     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.