GLS is now planning to launch its new airline in October compared to an original timescale ofthis summer, according to CEO Rico Back. The Royal Mail subsidiary aims to use air transportation
to speed up its parcel deliveries across Europe into a 24-hour service.“GLS Air will go into operation in Kassel in October,” Back told German newspaper Handelsblattin an interview. GLS will invest €10 million this year in setting up the air operation which willinitially use two cargo planes to link Germany and the UK. The fleet would gradually be increasedto 25 aircraft, providing air connections between hubs in 17 European countries.
Back told CEP-Research in April that the first GLS Air flights would be in June, with weeklyflights between Kassel, close to its main German hub at Neuenstein, and Coventry. The followingroutes would be between Kassel and Parma (northern Italy), and Kassel and Budapest.
In the Handelsblatt interview, Back reiterated the GLS plan to undercut the air express pricesof competitors such as DHL, TNT and UPS “by 30-40%”. No reason was given for the delay of severalmonths in the airline launch.
GLS Air is part of a large-scale investment programme, including spending of €100 million thisyear alone, designed to strengthen its pan-European network and offer faster cross-border parcelservices. In future, GLS aims to offer deliveries within 24 hours between major Europeanregions.
