SynopsisBlue Dart Aviation is gearing up to enhance its air cargo operations by launching services in five new industrial hotspots over the next five years. With an ambitious target of managing 100 tonnes of cargo daily from these centers, this expansion is poised to bolster India's booming manufacturing and e-commerce sectors.Listen to this article in summarized formatMumbai: Blue Dart Aviation plans to expand its dedicated air cargo operations across five emerging industrial centres over the next five years, targeting around 100 tonnes of daily cargo throughput from Pune, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Kochi and Coimbatore as India's only scheduled domestic cargo airline positions itself for the next phase of manufacturing and e-commerce growth.The expansion comes as the airline delays a decision on replacing its ageing Boeing 757 freighter fleet, opting instead to study how cargo demand evolves beyond traditional metro hubs before committing to new aircraft.Also Read: Return-to-origin shipments, not customer returns, are India's biggest e-commerce margin problem, says Blue Dart"We want to base our fleet decision on exactly the right aircraft from a capacity standpoint and also flexibility standpoint to make sure that we're able to penetrate cities where we want to at that point in time," Nikhil Ved, managing director, Blue Dart Aviation, told ET.Ved said the company expects freight generation to increasingly shift beyond Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai, driven by manufacturing investments under the government's Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and the Make in India programme."Today, these are the epicentres for maximum production of cargo. But with the way the PLI schemes and Make in India are progressing, we're going to see a lot more production coming from cities which are not these three or four," he said.Alongside network expansion, Blue Dart is also reshaping its cargo mix, moving beyond traditional e-commerce shipments into higher-yield segments such as precious metals, life sciences and specialised cargo."E-commerce will continue to be our largest segment. But we have embarked on a big mission to onboard high-value customers. We carry a lot of gold, silver, time-bound shipments, life sciences products, and dangerous goods, all permitted only on dedicated cargo aircraft. Those are the avenues we believe will drive revenue growth," Ved said.The airline currently operates a fleet of eight Boeing freighters connecting eight destinations through more than 56 route connections. It operates 26 scheduled flights a day, six days a week, transporting over one lakh tonnes of cargo annually.Within Blue Dart Express' integrated logistics network, around 60% of shipment volumes move by air, including cargo carried on Blue Dart Aviation's own fleet and commercial airline capacity, while the remainder moves by road. The company said most air volumes are handled by its dedicated freighter fleet.Blue Dart is also extending the life of its existing aircraft instead of rushing into fleet replacement. Parent Blue Dart Express recently said nearly ₹200 crore of its consolidated capital expenditure last year was directed towards aircraft and engine maintenance, with annual maintenance capex of ₹100-150 crore expected to continue even without adding new aircraft.Read More News on...moreless