DHL Global Forwarding, leveraging the parent company’s in-house cargo airline, will expand dedicated air capacity for businesses shipping between Southeast Asia and the United States with the launch of three widebody flights per week, starting on June 1.
The new service from DHL’s freight management arm will operate Hanoi (Vietnam)-Taipei (Taiwan)-Anchorage (Alaska)-Chicago/Cincinnati-Seoul (South Korea)-Hanoi with Boeing 777 freighters flown by partner carrier Kalitta Air, said DHL spokeswoman Ann-Christine Gräber in an email exchange. U.S. destinations will alternate between Chicago and Cincinnati.
DHL Express (XETRA: DHL) operates a global air network using multiple airlines, including its own fleet and third-party carriers, to move overnight packages for customers. Remaining capacity is sold to logistics companies with heavy B2B shipments. DHL Global Forwarding is the largest buyer of the excess capacity. DHL Aviation is a unit within Express that manages airline operations.
Providing self-controlled charter aircraft allows logistics companies to offer shippers more reliable capacity and service than tendering shipments through regular scheduled flights from passenger and all-cargo carriers.
DHL Global Forwarding’s decision to add exclusive capacity on the Asia-U.S. trade lane follows the recent expansion of charter flights between Asia and Europe.
On March 29, DHL Global Forwarding introduced weekly flights connecting Liège, Belgium, and Hong Kong to meet growing transport demand for general cargo. A service between Shanghai, China, and DHL’s hub in Leipzig, Germany, is scheduled to commence on June1, said Gräber.
DHL intends the services to be long-term operations that continue into the peak winter season, with market conditions determining any further extension, she explained.
Global Forwarding has secured one Boeing 777-300 converted freighter aircraft and a brand new factory-built 777 for the new Asia-Europe routes. The converted freighter is a former Emirates passenger jet that was reconfigured to freighter mode by Israel Aircraft Industries and delivered earlier this year to DHL, which placed it with Kalitta Air to operate on its behalf.
DHL signed contracts with Boeing between 2018 and 2022 to purchase 28 777 aircraft for the upgrade of its intercontinental fleet, with the final units delivered this year.
“Expanding our controlled capacity on the Asia-Europe corridor reinforces our commitment to reliability, speed, and resilience for our customers,” said Henk Venema, global head of air freight DHL Global Forwarding, in a news release announcing the two new routes five weeks ago. “The demand on that trade lane continues to grow at an exceptional pace, and strengthening our network ensures that we stay ahead of customer needs.”
The Liège-Hong Kong connection has a stopover in Tel Aviv, Israel, to support importers and exporters in the country. The return leg from Hong Kong to Liège feeds shipments directly into DHL’s European distribution network. Gräber said DHL has full flights on flights to Tel Aviv, with volumes from the European Union and Asia.
Global Forwarding also charters full flights operated by other airlines shuttling between Shanghai and the EU.
Earlier this year, Global Forwarding announced it was prioritizing use of DHL aircraft for pharmaceutical shipments on specially designated corridors. One of the new routes connects Brussels, Belgium, and Cincinnati, DHL’s primary North American air hub. The multi-weekly service is operated by Kalitta Air with a 777-300 passenger-to-freighter aircraft. The dedicated pharma network is expected to eventually include Germany, India, Singapore and Japan.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.
Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.
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