Originating from Bangkok and Singapore, the new service will operate five times a week between Bangalore and DHL’s European hub in Leipzig, Germany. The new freighter will be operated by AeroLogic, a joint venture cargo airline of DHL Express and Lufthansa Cargo.
India continues to be a high growth market for DHL Express and there is specific focus on investing in infrastructure, network and people in India to augment growth. This includes investments to enhance service facilities and upgrade air connectivity from and into the country. These investments will more than double the dedicated air network capacity of DHL into and out of India. South India is an important region in the country’s economy and the launch of the freighter at Bangalore is a key step towards facilitating growth in this region. DHL Express also has in-house customs clearance facility at Bangalore for faster clearances into and from South India.
The B777 freighter, which offers more than 100-tonne capacity, will boost transit times on key trade routes between Europe and Asia. With direct connectivity to and from South India locations, this new freighter service will provide enhanced flexibility in cut-off times for shipment pick-up in South India.
Commenting on the new initiative, Mr. R.S. Subramanian, Country Head, DHL Express India said: “It is our focus to align our network and services to the needs of our customers. The freighter in Bangalore is a part of this focus in boosting our air network capacity and will help our customers in South India enhanced transit times to Europe – which continues to be a key market across industries, especially for the textiles, automotive and leather industries. It will also provide improved connectivity from key Asian markets into South India.”
Today, DHL operates a well-established air network in Asia Pacific, that is served by more than 20 aircraft supplemented with over 500 commercial daily flights covering over 70 destination