DHL Express is now delivering urgent documents in Chicago by helicopter to bypass the notorious traffic gridlock in the ‘Windy City’.
The company today launched its fourth helicopter delivery service in a major metropolis following similar launches in New York, Los Angeles and London.
By using helicopters to fly from the international airport directly to a downtown landing site for final delivery by courier, DHL can provide early morning delivery services for financial and legal firms requiring urgent document delivery.
“We have received tremendous customer feedback on our helicopter service in both New York and L.A., so it seemed natural that we would bring this innovative delivery method to Chicago, which also is a bustling financial centre,” said Mike Parra, CEO of DHL Express U.S. “While we have always excelled at making deliveries with speed and reliability, our helicopter service provides additional assurance that shipments will meet their early morning deadlines.”
DHL Express said it is the only express delivery company in the U.S. to utilise helicopters for deliveries and introduced the helicopter into its Chicago operation to guarantee early morning delivery service, regardless of traffic bottlenecks. The service will be used by many globally-recognised financial and professional services customers.
International shipments destined for Chicago enter the U.S. for processing at the DHL Americas Hub in Cincinnati before connecting to a flight bound for the Chicago O’Hare International Airport. Shipments are then separated, loaded into the DHL helicopter and transported to the new Vertiport Chicago in the Illinois Medical District. From there, a DHL courier meets the helicopter and provides the final mile delivery.
The DHL helicopter, a Bell 206B3 Jet Ranger, is operated for DHL by Helimotion of Joliet, Illinois, and can transport up to 650 pounds of letters and packages.
DHL introduced a helicopter service in Los Angeles in 2014 and has been using the service in New York for many years. In addition, a new helicopter service was launched in January in London, offering an enhanced next-day service into the UK capital from major U.S. East Coast cities.
