Before the pandemic, cargo had simply been a by-product for many airlines! However, this airline scripted a turnaround tale in its cargo fortunes by carrying only cargo even as its operations were hit by the Covid pandemic back in March 2020. Riding on the back of delivering perishables from tier 2 and 3 Indian cities to the world, this Cochin headquartered low cost- airline Air India Express became one of the early innovators to switch to cargo-in-cabin services back in 2020.

Incidentally, the biggest beneficiary of this innovation especially when the pandemic hit was India's farmers and food producers community who were staring at either letting their produce rot away or selling them locally for throwaway prices.

The Air India Express Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Indian flag carrier Air India, which has subsequently been bought by Tata Sons recently. It operates 649 flights per week to 33 destinations including the Middle East and Southeast Asia and has a fleet of 24 Boeing 737-800s.

"All our planes were stuck, borders were closed and we were just in the dark and didn't know what to do. Like every airline, we had to keep our planes serviced and running as you can't just keep them parked. They have to be fueled so that the engines are run on a daily basis, the aircraft is in ship shape, which is an expenditure. We also had to fly planes to keep slots alive in the important airports with ghost flights. This was when we thought, ``Why don't we ship cargo?" avers an Air India Express spokesperson in a conversation with the Indian Transport and Logistics News (ITLN).