IAG Cargo says it peak season volumes out of the Indian market have so far “outperformed expectations” – primarily as a result of a surge in the carrier’s e-commerce prioritise traffic from the region.

IAG saw tonnage rise by 15 per cent between August and October in 2016 with volumes up 41 per cent in October compared to the same period last year. The US and the UK are the key destinations for freight departing India, with commodities including printed and packaging materials, clothing and household goods.

IAG commercial director, David Shepherd says: “India has seen an exceptionally strong start to the peak. Not only have we seen an increase in the number of consignments being carried, we’ve also seen increases in the average weight of those consignments.

“This strong start to the peak is being driven, to a significant extent, by the cross-border growth of e-commerce which has meant a corresponding rise in the need for express shipments.”

IAG services five gateways in India and a fleet of next generation aircraft including the Boeing 787-9, and says it is well placed to manage the high volume demand out of the region.

India’s e-commerce market is set to boom in future year, with global businesses investing significantly into India and analysts forecast the Indian market will be worth $119 billion by 2020.

Shepherd adds: “India has not been the only strong performing region for us over the peak season. More broadly we’ve seen a good performance across our global network with high demand in particular from Asia to Latin America which we are able to support through our 32 gateways into the region.

“We’re also seeing the UK market showing a level of demand over last couple of weeks that we haven’t seen over the past year which is encouraging.”