DHL-Aerologic joint venture links UAE to Asia/Europe

AEROLOGIC, the joint venture cargo airline of DHL Express and Lufthansa Cargo, will operate a B777F flight between Leipzig and Hong Kong with a connection in Sharjah, the third largest emirate of the UAE, to improve transit times from one day from Asia to UAE, and two days to Europe.

The flight will operate four days a week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from Leipzig - Hong Kong - Sharjah - Leipzig. Once a week, on Sundays, the flight operates from Leipzig - Sharjah - Hong Kong - Sharjah - Leipzig. Every Friday, the flight operates from Frankfurt - Sharjah - Hong Kong - Frankfurt.

"This Aerologic flight route via the UAE will boost our air network capacity on an increasingly important trade lane. Asia and Europe have strong trade relations with the Middle East and China will play an increasingly important role in trade with the UAE," said DHL Express chief executive officer John Pearson.

In 2009, China emerged as the top trading partner of the UAE with 12.9 per cent of total imports into the Emirates originating from China and the links via the Middle East will provide time savings and better connections.

"Bilateral trade between the UAE and China has seen impressive growth in recent years. This additional service is a positive commitment towards the anticipated growth we see in this trade lane", said Garry Kemp managing director of Middle East, North Africa and Turkey.

Aerologic took delivery of two additional B777F aircrafts in December 2009. With a fleet of four, it is currently the largest operation of B777F worldwide and expects delivery of four additional B777F aircraft in 2010 (planned for June, July, September and November).

(Source: www.schednet.com)