Blue Aviation to induct eight aircraft

News Clip : Business Line , Mumbai

18th Oct, 2006.

Blue Dart Aviation Ltd, a unit of the courier and air express company Blue Dart Express Ltd, plans to induct its eighth aircraft to its fleet of seven Boeing freighters in May 2007.

Currently, the all-cargo airline's Fleet of five Boeing 737 and two Boeing 757 freighters operates to seven metros in India. Two Boeing 757-200s were inducted this year at a cost of 67crore, Mr Niteen M. Gupte, Managing Director and CEO, Blue DartAviation ltd, said.

Each aircraft carries documents and charter loads of up to 60 tonnes. The fights are operated at night to provide overnight delivery to its customers. During the calendar year 2005, the airline carried over 49 million shipments weighing over 125,000 tonnes.

NEW WAREHOUSE

Night operations allow for late cutoff times and early deliveries, Mr Gupte said. He added that since the airline has its own x-ray machines at its warehouses in six airports, it could accept freight without the requisite cooling period for security. The company has just developed a new warehouse in Chennai at a cost of Rs 45 Lakh.