DHL Express has dropped one of its US flight partners in an efficiency move and is adding moreinternational routes to serve its growing US business, a senior executive told CEP-Research
in an interview.“The US market is our largest market globally,” said Mike Parra, Senior Vice President NetworkOperations for the Americas. “We are seeing great demand and growth in connecting the US tointernational markets.” DHL Express is expanding US flight operations and now has 80 flights a dayto and from its US hub at Cincinnati (CVG) where it is investing up to $100 million to expandcapacity, he said.
Within the Americas, DHL Express launched B757 flights between CVG and its Americas hub inPanama via Miami last autumn. “This is a market-leading service offering next-day delivery toPanama and NAFTA,” Parra commented.
The company has also launched round-the-world services with US cargo airline Southern Air whichis using four B777Fs to operate dedicated flights from Hong Kong via CVG and Bahrain back to HongKong, and from Hong Kong via Los Angeles and Leipzig back to the departure airport. Other newintercontinental flights from the USA are being planned at present.
Within the USA, DHL last month made a major restructuring of its air operations by terminatingthe long-standing contract of Astar Air Cargo as of June 2. The US cargo airline, which previouslyflew under the name DHL Airways, had operated a fleet of six DC-8s for DHL. The contracttermination resulted in 160 job losses, according to US media.
Instead, DHL contracted ABX Air, which already operates 18 B767s for DHL on US routes, to flytwo additional B767s on the five routes previously operated by Astar. In addition, Atlas Air hasstarted to operate one DHL-owned B767-200 on North America routes and will add four more B767s bythe third quarter of this year in addition to the existing B747 flights of subsidiary Polar Air forDHL on transpacific routes.
Explaining the decision to stop using Astar, a DHL Express Americas spokeswoman said: “Thedecision was solely based on the high cost associated with the Astar fleet. DHL is usingalternative carriers with newer, more fuel-efficient aircraft such as B767s. The high cost hadbecome unsustainable for DHL. Consequently DHL has decided to use more economically efficientaircraft to improve our air network’s operating costs and retain our competitive service offeringover the long term as our network develops and customer demand grows.”
Joe Hete, President and CEO of Air Transport Services Group, the ABX Air parent company, said:“Our strong, long-term relationship with DHL is based in part on our ability to meet both itsshort- and long-term requirements for access to efficient medium widebody freighters. As DHL’sprincipal source of freighter airlift in North America, we will make every effort to support DHL’sfuture freighter aircraft requirements as they may develop in the future.”
The restructuring will leave 25 B767s flying for DHL on major US domestic routes during theforthcoming autumn peak season along with smaller cargo planes on regional routes.
