DHL Express is introducing the Boeing 767 Extended Range Freighter aircraft into its air fleet. The first commercial flight left the Leipzig airport in Germany for DHL’s major international gateway at John F. Kennedy (JFK) airport in New York. Operated by United Kingdom-based DHL Air, a total of six Boeing 767ERF aircraft will help DHL further boost the company’s on-time performance and reliability of its transatlantic services. The aircraft will replace the shared capacity of its MD-11F aircraft currently in use through a joint venture with Lufthansa Cargo.
Transatlantic trade has been at a continuously high level in recent years, with Europe-to-US and US-to-Europe trade flows reaching a value of $347 billion and $288 billion, respectively in 2008. The company’s volumes in the transatlantic air express market remained at a high level during the recent economic crisis and are expected to increase when the global economy has fully recovered.
With a payload capacity of 59 tons and a maximum range of 3,700 miles, the 767ERF aircraft is widely recognized as one of the most modern mid-range wide body freighters currently available, said DHL. The new aircraft will serve daily direct flights between the US and Europe, which include daily direct flights between DHL Express’ major European hub in Leipzig, Germany, and New York's JFK airport, while another daily direct flight serves routes between DHL Express’ major international Americas regional hub in Cincinnati and gateway in New York to-and-from East Midlands, United Kingdom. These flights will further improve the international connectivity of the US network and enable the company to expand its next day Time Definite transatlantic services between the US East Coast and Europe, said DHL. DHL is the first company to register this aircraft type in Europe, following certification through the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
“By introducing the Boeing 767ERF into our own DHL air fleet we are following our smart technology approach, which aims at achieving high efficiency gains through the use of the most modern technology available, wherever possible,” said Charlie Dobbie, executive vice president, Express Network Operations and Aviation. “Furthermore, operating this highly reliable new aircraft type on our transatlantic routes proves that we are serious about further improving our capabilities for US inbound and outbound international express services. Moreover, the aircraft’s efficiency also enables us to maintain a very competitive offer and implement our group-wide GoGreen strategy.”
