AirAsia, the leading and largest low-cost carrier in Asia, which considers cargo as a major area of growth for 2010, expects its cargo revenue to grow by more than 40 per cent over last year’s performance.

The carrier is tying up with a number of cargo agents and large export-import firms in the markets that AirAsia flies to.

It is also aggressively growing its markets and utilising special prorate agreements (SPA) with various airlines to achieve its revenue target for 2010, said a statement.

It is also reaching markets beyond its current route network through other airlines with which AirAsia has SPA agreements. These major airlines extend AirAsia’s reach to more cities in South Asia, East Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

“We’ve been signing up more key players in the cargo industry,” said Sathis Manoharen, AirAsia regional head for cargo.

“Demand for our cargo space is picking up, and with AirAsia now up there among the world’s most recognizable brands and with the expanded reach that we have with our airline partners, more large companies are interested in our cargo services. Our competitive prices have allowed us to also increase business with individual senders.”

“AirAsia is growing in many markets, but South Asia is of particular interest because of our rapid expansion there.  In November last year, AirAsia started flying to the three Indian cities of Kolkata, Trivandrum and Kochi,” Manoharen continued.

“These are in addition to our other destinations in the region – Tiruchirappalli, Dhaka and Colombo.  Interest from businesses there is picking up, and this should intensify when we begin flights to even more South Asian cities this year,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service