FedEx Express has opened a South India gateway at Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) and launchedflights from the hi-tech metropolis to its European air hub. It has also broadened domestic express
services within India to continue its expansion in the market.The new flight was launched at the start of August and is operating five times a week to ParisCharles de Gaulle. The aircraft type being used was not announced. Offering direct connections fromBengaluru to Europe, the Middle East and the USA, the service has made the southern city into itsthird gateway in India alongside Delhi and Mumbai. The company now has a total of 21 weeklyinternational flights from India.
Customer benefits from the new flight include later pick-up times by up to 90 minutes, access toall FedEx services including express freight shipping, and the ability to ship perishable, valuableand dangerous goods, according to the company.
“India has witnessed exceptional levels of economic expansion, and despite the global economicdownturn, the economy reflects strong performance in manufacturing and export-oriented industries,”said Kenneth F. Koval, vice president, Operations, FedEx Express India. “The launch of the newflight from Bengaluru, coupled with the domestic service expansion, broadens marketopportunities for customers doing business locally as well as internationally by leveragingthe reach of the FedEx worldwide network.”
Bengaluru is an important export market, accounting for 23.8% of Indian exports to Europe and16.5% to the USA, FedEx stated. South India as a whole generates about 20% of Indian GDP.
Meanwhile, FedEx has also announced it will gradually extend its premium domestic next businessday service, which it launched last October, from 14 to 58 origin cities over the coming months.The 58 cities contribute to 40% of India’s GDP and enable the company to offer a more defined anddiversified product portfolio to and from major cities across the country.
The company will add satellite cities such as Secunderabad, Tirupur, Chinchwad, Pimpri, Thaneand Navi Mumbai into the service points from August 2010, with more cities benefiting from theservices in the months ahead. As of August 2010, the next day express service is available fromAhmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Jaipur,Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Noida, Pune, Secunderabad, Tirupur, Chinchwad, Pimpri, Thane and NaviMumbai to 58 destinations.
These service enhancements are part of an ongoing focus by FedEx to strengthen its foothold inIndia whilst bolstering the trade lane between Asia and Europe. Enhancements by FedEx started inMarch 2005 with the launch of the air cargo industry’s first express direct flight from mainlandChina to Europe. It was followed in September 2005 by a second flight doubling the capacitybetween Europe and Asia, with a stop in Delhi, making it the first overnight express daily flightbetween India and China.
