DHL has increased its air network capacity for its dedicated Manila – Hong Kong service to meetgrowing cargo demand and to strengthen its Asia Air Network.
The enhanced dedicated service, operated by an Air Hong Kong B727-200 freighter, provides acargo capacity of 24 tons, up from 19 tons previously. The flight frequency has also been increasedfrom four to five times a week. This represents a total payload capacity of 240 tons or a 58% (88tons) increase in payload capacity for the service. Air Hong Kong is a 60/40 joint venture betweenCathay Pacific and DHL.
The new service has been generated by the growing exports from the Philippines to China(+43.8 % between 2000 and 2005), while imports from China to the Philippines grew by an average of30.5 % in the same period. As a consequence, cargo volumes between Manila and Hong Kong areanticipated to rise significantly, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.
“The enhanced service is to meet continued anticipated strong trade growth between thePhilippines and Hong Kong,” said Tom Murphy, Senior Vice President, Aviation, DHL Express – AsiaPacific. “This is part of our commitment to ensure that the provision of express air cargo capacitysupports the dynamism of our customers’ business in this region.”
DHL’s Asia Air Network currently comprises more than 30 destinations in 16 countries andterritories, served by over 20 aircraft in dedicated air operations. This allows major Asia Pacificcities and other business centres to be interconnected through DHL’s regional hubs and gateways,providing DHL’s customers with overnight services across the region.
