SINGAPORE – 24 January 2024 – DHL Express, the world’s leading international express service provider, has commenced services for the final Boeing 777 freighter deployed at the South Asia Hub in Singapore. With a payload capability of 102 tons, the aircraft joins the four other Boeing 777 freighters already deployed in Singapore to boost inter-continental connectivity between Asia Pacific and the Americas. Sporting a dual DHL-Singapore Airlines (SIA) livery, these five freighters provide a total of 1,224 tons of payload capacity to meet growing customer demand for international express shipping services.
DHL Express strengthens US-Asia trade with deployment of fifth DHL-SIA Boeing 777 freighter in Singapore
Starting December 2023, three of the five Boeing 777 freighters will ply the Singapore-Bangkok/Taipei-Incheon/Nagoya-Cincinnatti-Honolulu-Sydney-Singapore route seven times a week. The other two will cover the Singapore-Nagoya-Los Angeles-Honolulu-Singapore route five times a week. With these services, DHL Express significantly enhances its international air network capacity by taking advantage of Singapore’s strategic location and position as a key air cargo and logistics hub. Customers looking to ship between Asia Pacific and the U.S. West Coast can expect shortened delivery times to one day for their cross-border time-sensitive shipments.
“Both Asia and the United States are major economic powerhouses with significant trade flows. We continue to see significant demand for shipments between the two regions due to a huge volume of cross-border e-commerce and trade activities. In the last four years, shipment volume between Asia Pacific (excluding China) and the U.S. increased by more than 20 percent,” said Ken Lee, CEO for Asia Pacific, DHL Express. “As we seek to improve trade connectivity between Asia and the United States, deploying these five freighters enables us to provide efficient and rapid logistics solutions for Asia Pacific shippers. Having Singapore Airlines as our partner to operate and maintain these aircraft also bolsters our customer service quality.”
In March 2022, DHL Express and SIA signed the Crew and Maintenance agreement, where SIA would operate and oversee the maintenance of the five Boeing 777 freighters deployed at the South Asia Hub. DHL Express welcomed the first freighter in August 2022. These five Boeing 777 freighters are part of DHL Express’ order book of 28 Boeing 777 freighters since the first purchase was made in 2018. As the world’s largest, longest range, and most capable twin-engine freighters, the Boeing 777 freighter also offers enhanced fuel efficiency. As it emits 18 percent less CO2 compared to the legacy B747-400s, the freighter enhances DHL Express operations and contributes to the company’s sustainability goals.
With a presence in more than 220 countries and territories, DHL Express’s global network consists of 18 own and partner airlines and over 300 dedicated aircraft that operate more than 2,400 daily flights. The company is committed to continuous improvement and innovation in its services and network by investing constantly in its aircraft, network operations and ground infrastructure to cater to the growth in cross-border time-sensitive shipments.