Site Admin

Joined: 17 Jun 2005
Posts: 949
Location: Carmel, IN

An article in this week's Indianapolis Business Journal reveals that BAA, the operator of IND, has been actively seeking more cargo business. IND is already the nation's 7th busiest cargo airport, and has plenty of room for more growth. You can read the article if you are a subscriber at

http://tampa.ibj.com/Daily/ski...amp;BP=OK&AW=1119412849515

Here is an excerpt:

Airport seeking more air cargo operations



Carriers that fly to Asia among hot prospects beyond FedEx at nationâ??s 7th-largest cargo airport


By Chris Oâ??Malley comalley@ibj.com



Airport leaders not content with modest gains in air cargo in recent years are trying to entice more cargo carriers to Indianapolis International. One big focus of their conquest: cargo firms at Chicago Oâ??Hare International Airport. Armed with slide presentations, airport managers show carriers and freight-forwarding companies screen after screen of data on how much they can save by operating at Indianapolis. Save $240,000 in annual landing fees on a Boeing 747 freighter. Save $7.4 million annually in fuel. Spend less time in customs and avoid highway congestion. On and on it goes. So far, no bites. â??Itâ??s a long harvest time. Itâ??s about a two- or three-year period, per se,â? said Patrick Dooley, airport director for BAA Indianapolis. Dooley made expansion of cargo operations one of his goals when he was tapped as airport director in 2003. He points to the years it took to cultivate the meteoric growth of Northwest Airlines in Indianapolis, which has added dozens of flights to become the busiest airline here. Talks with Northwest began before the 2001 terrorist attacks. â??Weâ??re developing good relationshipsâ? in cargo, he said. Dooley and his team are particularly interested in those shipping to and from China. That nation currently receives 6 percent of air exports from Indiana. That number, though small, grew 108 percent last year, according to the airport management firm.

Site Admin

Joined: 15 Jun 2005
Posts: 2316
Location: Indianapolis, IN

IND is really the absolute perfect spot for cargo. Its location geographically is about the best and the fact that it is connected by a large number of interstate highways is even better. On the air side IND has plenty of room to grow where most airports do not.

I've seen discussed that Fedex @ IND will become the largest hub in the company. That will push IND to the #1 cargo spot in the world.