European Courier Services Expand

On the heels of DHL's announcement of a new hub in Leipzig, Brussels Cargo launched a courier service in Europe and FedEx said it was expanding capacity there.

FedEx Express is expanding its European hub at Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris and building an environmentally friendly facility in Cologne (Köln), Germany.

Sorting capacity at the Paris hub will be increased from 24,000 packages per hour to 31,500. Target date for completing the expansion is September 2009.

In Belgium, the Brussels Cargo division of Brussels Airlines launched a daylight courier service to major European cities.

Brussels Cargo, the cargo division of Belgian carrier Brussels Airlines, has launched a new daylight courier service to major cities across Europe. Geared to packages weighing up to 64 pounds (32 kilos), the service will initially serve Athens, Barcelona, Lisbon, Nice, Madrid and Warsaw.

Packages can be tendered up to 60 minutes before departure. The company hopes to attract spare parts and medical/healthcare products.

In addition to the hub expansions in Europe, FedEx announced it will invest in a new freight rail station at the Paris airport that will link to a high-speed train network. Air cargo containers will be loaded directly onto trains and moved throughout northern Europe. The service, called CAREX, is expected to be operational by 2012.