AirAsia India has appointed Globe Air Cargo India, part of the ECS Group, as its Cargo General Sales  & Services agent (GSSA) ahead of the airline’s successful launch last month. The start-up low-cost airline commenced operations on 12 June from its main operating base at Bangalore’s Kempegowda International Airport, with flights initially serving Chennai, Goa, and Cochin via three A320-200 aircraft. It plans to expand its flight schedule rapidly across India, with the expectation of operating six to eight aircraft by mid-2015, at least 25 aircraft by end of 2016, and expanding to 36 aircraft within five years. The first airline with substantial international investment to start domestic flights in India, AirAsia India is 49% owned by Malaysia’s successful and rapidly expanding carrier AirAsia, with 30% owned by Indian conglomerate Tata and the remaining 21% in the airline held by Telestra Tradeplace. Rajendra DUBEY, Country Manager of Globe Air Cargo India, commented: “We are really pleased to begin working with AirAsia India, which promises to become a major player in India’s airline market. Its ambition to expand its flights to a large number of India’s tier 2 and tier 3 cities means that we will have some interesting air cargo capacity to work with, and we will apply our tried-and-tested processes and systems to make the best use of that.” Bertrand SCHMOLL, Chief Executive Officer of ECS Group, commented: “AirAsia has demonstrated that it is a world-class airline, and I have no doubt that the AirAsia India business will drive similarly high standards. We look forward to maximizing the potential of its cargo capacity, as we have repeatedly done for our airline cargo customers around the world.”