The DHL Express regional air hub in California also faces closure as part of the plannedcooperation with UPS for North America airlift, according to local newspapers.
DHL will shift its international flight between the hub at Riverside and Hong Kong to departinstead from Los Angeles starting from October 26, the Press-Enterprise newspaper reported. PolarAir will take over operating the route from ABX Air under earlier plans to switch transpacificairline partners.
The fate of DHL’s remaining four daily domestic US flights at Riverside is uncertain, thenewspaper said. They could be made redundant by the UPS deal, leaving some 300 local staff withouta job. Riverside officials were cited as saying that they are already seeking alternative tenantsto replace DHL.
DHL started operations at the March Air Reserve Base near Riverside, California, in 2005,following a $70 million investment in the lease and development of a new building, and expanded toeight daily flights there. The strategy was to use the site as a regional hub for domestic flightswithin the US and ground distribution in parts of California. In March 2007, DHL Express launchedan international flight from Riverside to Hong Kong, offering faster imports from Asia. DHL alreadyused Los Angeles and San Francisco as international gateways for California.
Deutsche Post has meanwhile stressed that its talks with UPS are making “good progress” butdid not say when it expected to conclude the UPS agreement. In May, when announcing the DHL ExpressUS restructuring agreement, DPWN said it expected the deal to be reached by end-August.
The Financial Times Deutschland newspaper reported that it could take two more months beforean agreement is sealed. DHL could reduce its ground operations by more than originally planned inresponse to the worsening US economy, it said.
