Lufthansa Cargo, DHL Express christen air cargo joint venture AeroLogic
| Related Stories • Lufthansa, DHL air cargo venture set for 2009 take off |
AeroLogic (www.aerologic.aero is the name chosen by DHL Express and Lufthansa Cargo for their air cargo joint venture that will take to the skies in the summer of 2009.
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Computer generated image of a Boeing 777-200 LRF in Aerologic Colors |
The new airline, owned equally by the two companies, will be based at the Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany. At a ceremony held in Frankfurt on Monday, Charles Graham, chief executive officer DHL Aviation, and Carsten Spohr, CEO and chairman of Lufthansa Cargo, said they are confident AeroLogic will benefit from the continued growth in transcontinental traffic.
Established last September, the joint venture has about 20 employees and is looking to add about 200 pilots. In total, AeroLogic is expected to create about 250 new jobs.
By 2012, AeroLogic’s fleet will comprise 11 leased Boeing 777-200 Long Range Freighters that will operate around both of its owners' requirements so that on weekdays, freighters will fly to Asian destinations in the DHL Express network such as Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai, Bombay, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, Nagoya, Almaty, as well as East Midlands and Milan in Europe. Weekends, the aircraft will supplement Lufthansa Cargo's services to and from Shanghai, Astana, Singapore, Bangkok, Sharjah, Hong Kong, Chicago and New York.
The company has just completed a leasing agreement for eight of the Boeing freighters from Deucalion Capital VII Ltd., a company advised and managed by DVB Bank. AeroLogic will receive the first four planes from Deucalion at the start of next year with the next batch due for delivery in 2010. The planes, valued at $2 billion at list prices, were originally ordered by Iceland’s Avion Group in 2005.
DHL’s Graham said AeroLogic will lease a further two Boeing 777-200LRFs for delivery in 2011 and plans to add a reserve aircraft to the fleet in 2012.
'The name AeroLogic is perfectly suited to the aspirations and objectives we have set for the carrier,” Spohr said. “It is the culmination of a successful partnership that has existed for many years between DHL Express and Lufthansa Cargo. The neutral brand symbolizes our offer of competent and competitive transport services right across the air cargo sector.'
Management of AeroLogic will be handled jointly by Thomas Papke, formerly with Lufthansa Cargo, and Thomas Pusch, previously at DHL Express.
'We have created a strong and experienced management team to help us face the challenges of running an air cargo carrier and achieve our goal of ranking among the top five cargo carriers in Europe,” Papke said. ' Simon Heaney
