New Delhi: Budget carrier SpiceJet is planning to launch a door-to-door cargo delivery service as it seeks to explore other revenue streams amid a turnaround plan.
The Gurgaon-based airline is in the process of setting up required infrastructure for the service, which is expected to be rolled out this fiscal, top airline sources said. SpiceJet has already placed order for 100 sub-three tonne trucks with a leading Mumbai-based commercial vehicle maker, besides leasing commercial space for 40 warehousing facilities across the country, they said.
Significantly, the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines had unsuccessfully experimented with a cargo delivery service in 2010. "The proposed service is in the planning phase. We are working on it and are hoping that we launch the service within this fiscal," an airline source said.
The airline already has the critical air link, he said adding, "we are trying to see if it makes some sense to take it one step forward." According to SpiceJet, domestic cargo is logging a 15-17% year-on-year growth.
Coming back from the verge of closure in late 2014, SpiceJet has remained profitable for four straight quarters since the change of ownership January last year. Registering its highest ever quarterly profit, SpiceJet posted a net profit of Rs 238.40 crore for the three months ending December 2015. In the year-ago period, it had incurred a net loss of Rs 275.03 crore.
When asked about the economic viability of the plan, another source said, "Initial estimates suggest that the new business could be profitable given the fact that the airline is already carrying the cargo on its passenger flights."
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