Maximus Air has turned its focus to the Indian Sub-continent as one of the key regions for the expansion of its business outside of the Arab world.

In view of this goal, the company said it was making its debut at the biennial Air Cargo India Expo in Mumbai held from February 1-3. This marks the first public appearance for the airline under its new name and brand.

Fathi Hilal Buhazza, president and CEO, said the rapid growth of international trade has boosted prospects for the air cargo market in India in a company statement.

“At present, 50 per cent of our business comes from within the UAE and 50 per cent from outside the country,” he said. “We want the mix to be 80/20 in favour of international markets and so we are looking to fast growing regions like the Indian Sub-continent where trade with the UAE alone increased to US$30 billion for the first six months of 2011. This is two thirds of what was achieved the whole of 2010, therefore it would be an understatement to say that Maximus Air sees the ISC as an important growth market.”

“Statistics also show that there is ever increasing demand for vehicles, aircraft, defence equipment and all sorts of products to fuel the growth-hungry Indian economy. Maximus Air’s flexible fleet, and its focus on developing the ACMI lease to operator market, means it is well placed to handle any size of cargo.”

According to Mr Buhazza the company is not only looking at increasing its geographic footprint but also its business mix.

“We are looking to diversify through mergers, acquisition and/or strategic partnerships in a number of different areas ranging from consultancy to brokerage and from storage to delivery with the aim of giving us better control of all aspects of the logistics chain rather than having to rely on third parties,” he said.

Mohamed Parkar, vice president commercial and acting chief operating officer, who is heading the Maximus Air delegation, added that Indians are the largest group of investors in the UAE and own the highest number of businesses compared to other nationalities.

Related posts:

1. Hapag-Lloyd Asia-India/Mideast Rate up
2. Dubai World Central International Airport gains Jebel Ali Cargo Boost
3. CARGOLUX Adds B747-8F to boost Indianapolis to Luxembourg capacity
4. Australia Asia trade, Copa Airlines, Air-India, sailors, Schenker, logistical support, International Maritime, Macau cargo News