DHL Express aims to outgrow the market on the key Asia-Europe trade lane through its cargo airlinejoint venture with Lufthansa Cargo, senior executives said today. But the express operator will fly
its own freighters on transatlantic routes in future in place of the current LufthansaCargo-operated services.The creation of the JV airline, which will start operations in summer 2009, clearly showedthe growth potential of DHL’s Asia business, Deutsche Post World Net chairman Klaus Zumwinkel tolda press conference at Frankfurt Airport. DHL Express aimed to offer improved services and thusoutgrow the expected double-digit growth rates for Asia-Europe traffic, he commented.
The new airline showed that Lufthansa Cargo is developing in line with customer and marketneeds based on a growth strategy and able to adapt to changing requirements, pointed out Lufthansachairman Wolfgang Mayrhuber.
The new Leipzig-based airline will be Europe’s fourth-largest cargo carrier with annualturnover of some EUR 500 million and a fleet of 11 leased new B-777 long-range freighters. Thejoint company will have equity capital of EUR 50 million, and is expected to employ about 250 staffby 2012.
The carrier will have its own operating licence, traffic rights and pilots, said DHL AviationCEO Charles Graham. DHL is currently in negotiations with potential aircraft lessors, and theaircraft would probably be leased for 10 years, he added. No investment figure for the aircraft wasdisclosed.
The B777Fs will fly weekdays under DHL Express network management between Leipzig and keyMiddle East and Asian destinations (Dubai, Mumbai, Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seouland Nagoya). At the weekend there will be Lufthansa Cargo-managed flights to Asia and also toChicago and New York.
DHL Express will have the bulk of capacity on the weekday flights, with some co-loading byLufthansa Cargo, while Lufthansa Cargo will market the weekend capacities, including to DHLLogistics. In all, DHL Express will use about two-thirds of the airline’s total available capacity.
Addressing DHL’s aviation network strategy, Graham confirmed that DHL would start its owntransatlantic operations in 2009 with its six ordered B767-300 freighters to replace the expiringfive-year-old joint venture with Lufthansa Cargo. Under this agreement, DHL Express has contractedthe bulk of capacity on dedicated MD-11F flights from Europe to the USA.
Lufthansa Cargo CEO Carsten Spohr said that the new joint airline marked the closestcooperation yet between a cargo airline and an integrator. DPWN is Lufthansa Cargo’s largestcustomer, accounting for about 20% of revenues, he noted. The brand for the airline has notyet been decided, but will be neither “DHL” nor “Lufthansa”, he added.
At Leipzig, Lufthansa Cargo will build a cargo terminal with 170,000 tonnes capacity for someEUR 15 – 20 million and with completion due by 2009, Spohr said. The company is also looking intooperating a cargo train between Leipzig and its main hub at Frankfurt to handle the expectedgrowing volumes between the two locations, he added.
The seven MD-11 freighters that will be freed from the two companies’ existing transatlanticcooperation in 2009 will return to the Lufthansa Cargo fleet at Frankfurt, taking it to 19aircraft.
