Astral Aviation signs interline agreement with Indian SpiceXpress.
Last month, Astral Aviation strengthened its fleet with the entry into service of its first Boeing 767-200F. Pushed by its wings by its new operational capacities, the Kenyan cargo carrier is increasing its partnerships in search of new markets.
Astral Aviation and SpiceXpress connect their two networks. The Kenyan carrier, specializing in freight transport, and the cargo arm of India's Spicejet, have signed an interline agreement. The announcement was recently made by Sanjeev Gadhia, Chairman and CEO of Astral Aviation during Cargo MasterMinds, a series of interviews initiated by STAT Media Group.
Thanks to this agreement, Astral Aviation is expanding its network in India, with the possibility of now serving the cities of Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi, via Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates. At the same time, SpiceXpress will increase its presence in Africa, now flying to Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Mwanza in Tanzania, Entebbe in Uganda, Juba in South Sudan, Mogadishu in Somalia, Pemba in Mozambique, Johannesburg in South Africa, Hargeisa in Somalia, and Lusaka in Zambia, via the Astral Aviation base in Nairobi, Kenya. "Thanks to this interline agreement, trade between India and Africa will be easier, allowing the movement of goods at much more competitive rates, in the two respective markets, as well as more regular flight frequencies, to the benefit of of our customers and traders,”said Sanjeev Gadhia, CEO of Astral Aviation.
“This interline agreement will strengthen trade routes between the two continents, and provide much faster and more transparent logistics solutions. This will help SpiceXpress to build its African network, and to ensure its presence on this continent with strong growth”, adds Sanjiv Gupta, CEO of SpiceXpress. Remember that Astral currently provides a regular and charter freight service to more than 50 destinations in Africa and Europe, from its bases in Nairobi in Kenya and Liege in Belgium. Until then, its fleet had consisted of 14 cargo planes including the 747, 727, McDonnell Douglas DC-9, BAE ATP, Fokker 50 and Fokker 27. Last month, the company put into service its first 767-200F. SpiceXpress, for its part, operates a fleet of three 737-700F and two 737-800F. Its operations have recently been reinforced by four auxiliary freighter (three Dash-400 and one A321-200).
