September 16 - Panalpina will commence its own additional controlled regular airfreight services connecting Luxembourg with destinations such as South Africa, Dubai and Hong Kong.
It will also cover the transpacific route to Huntsville, Alabama in the USA, complementing Panalpina's existing transatlantic airfreight service Dixie Jet, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
The new all cargo service will be operated by Atlas Air using a Boeing 747-400F aircraft. It will consist of such important rotations as Luxembourg to Johannesburg (South Africa), Luxembourg via Dubai to Hong Kong as well as Hong Kong to Luxembourg and Hong Kong to Huntsville. It will therefore provide direct own controlled flights covering Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and North America. Panalpina and Atlas Air have signed an ACMI lease agreement (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, Insurance) for a multi-year period.
The additional own controlled freighter capacity will provide flexibility as far as schedules and routings are concerned. This means that Panalpina can adjust the rotations according to market and customer needs, while at the same time creating synergies with the existing transatlantic service.
"I am delighted to offer our customers an additional own controlled service which will serve the major trade centers and industrial areas around the globe. We will be able to provide upper and lower deck capacity when and where needed, providing customized value add solutions to various Industry Verticals at high service levels", explains Karl Weyeneth, chief operating officer of the Panalpina Group.
20 years ago in September 1990, Panalpina launched its all cargo airfreight service Dixie Jet linking its hubs in Luxembourg and Huntsville. At a time when it was common to book freight shipments on commercial passenger planes this was the first time that a freight forwarding company had offered a scheduled cargo service between Europe and North America, says Panalpina.
The Dixie Jet aircraft is operated by Atlas Air, using a Boeing 747-400F aircraft. Panalpina and Atlas Air look back on a long and successful cooperation. The service provides regular flights between Panalpina's airfreight hubs in Luxembourg and Huntsville. It offers several weekly frequencies, serving the Southern, Central and Southeast of the USA via an exclusive Road Feeder service. The service links Luxembourg with Huntsville and additionally serves Mexico City, Guadalajara and London Stansted.
