DHL Express has launched three new air express routes between Europe, the Middle East and AsiaPacific, with an ‘Early Bird’ flight from Hong Kong enabling a time-definite next-day express
service, a new Thailand connection and additional Middle East capacity.The three new routes are all being operated by AeroLogic, the joint venture cargo airline of DHLExpress and Lufthansa Cargo, which has now expanded its fleet to seven B777 freighters. An eighthB777F will be added at the end of November 2010 to launch further services.
The ‘Early Bird’ flight from Hong Kong to Leipzig, operating Mondays to Thursdays, was launchedon October 11. The service, departing Hong Kong at about 17:30, arrives in Leipzig about 23:15local time. This means DHL Express can offer Asian exporters later cutoff times while night-timesorting in Leipzig and onward flights enable time-definite deliveries the next morning acrossEurope, a DHL spokesman explained.
The second daily flight departs Hong Kong at about 04:00, arriving in Leipzig mid-morning. Thisoffers much later cutoff times but deliveries can only be made by the end of the next working dayin Europe.
In parallel, DHL Express said it has added a new Bangkok stop Tuesdays to Fridays to itsexisting Leipzig-Singapore-New Delhi route to improve speed of delivery to the important SoutheastAsian market. Bangkok is served on the eastbound leg after a stopover in Bahrain and before arrivalin Singapore.
The new weekly Brussels to Bahrain route, which went live on Tuesday October 12, adds to theexisting Leipzig to Bahrain connection and enhances DHL Express’ ability to serve a high-demandtrade lane that connects European and American markets to the Middle East.
Ken Allen, DHL Express CEO, emphasised that the latest network enhancements significantlycontributed to further building DHL’s leading position. “We are proud to spearhead developmentsthat improve the connectivity of markets,” he commented. “There is a continuously high demand forexpress transport of goods and documents between key markets in Europe, Asia Pacific and EEMEA, andour new routes will provide customers with more flexibility and add capacity where it isneeded.”
AeroLogic’s seven Boeing 777Fs currently perform a total of 107 weekly flights to 16destinations in three major regions worldwide. Weekday flights between Asia and Europe are operatedfor DHL Express while the weekend services to the USA are flown for Lufthansa Cargo.
