FedEx signs pact with Prakash Air
Federal Express Corporation of the US has signed an operational agreement with Prakash Airfreight Pvt Ltd following Blue Dart’s recent alliance with DHL Worldwide Express. The agreement becomes effective from October 1, when Federal Express’ prior contract with Blue Dart expires.
Jacques Creeten, managing director, Indian sub-continent, Fedex, said: “We have more than doubled our capacity and the product mix too has seen a shift towards high value products. Blue Dart’s existing network is not capable of handling these and we did not want to compromise on that front since the Blue Dart technology is not workable on a global level.”
Further adding that though Prakash is a domestic company, it is setting up a separate division which apart from operating under the Federal Express branding will exclusively service the FedEx needs. India, he said was among the fastest growing markets for FedEx.
“We have grown five times since 1997 when we opened our first direct office in India,” he said, without divulging any figures.
To strengthen its offerings between Europe and Asia Pacific, the company has doubled its capacity and upgraded its aircraft to a MD-11 from the previous A310. This is mainly because post September 11 attacks, Europe has emerged as India’s largest trading block. “FedEx has been investing in to the European market to leverage on this trend,” he said.
The company has also tied up with a leading customs clearance outfit called Jeena & Co to facilitate faster delivery.
