Panalpina inaugurates new all cargo air freight services
The global forwarding and logistics group Panalpina will commence additional own 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. Coinciding with the announcement of the new airfreight product, Panalpina celebrates the 20-year-anniversary of the Dixie Jet service.
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 utmost 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. “The launch coincides with the celebrations of the 20-year-anniversary of the famous and successful transatlantic Dixie Jet service which we extended last year”, he adds.
William J. Flynn, President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlas Air Worldwide (AAWW), comments: “On a day where we celebrate a long-standing relationship with one of the world’s leading suppliers of freight forwarding and logistics services, it’s only fitting that we announce a further commitment to serve Panalpina and its customers with state-of-the-art, high-quality capacity and time-definite service”.
Dixie Jet celebrates 20th birthday
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 a truly pioneering step. It was the first time ever that a freight forwarding company offered a scheduled cargo service between Europe and North America, guaranteeing total control during the entire transport chain from door to door, managing the capacity and establishing the flight schedules. Over the years, the service has been extended up to several weekly flights, and additional destinations were added.
“The world of the air cargo industry has changed fundamentally over the last 20 years, and yet, our Dixie Jet service is still booming. The service is a pillar of our worldwide airfreight network and customer demand for this product is very high”, explains CEO Monika Ribar.
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.
Part of Panalpina’s unique own controlled network is the highly skilled charter and emergency group providing airfreight solutions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to any destination worldwide.
The Panalpina Group
The Panalpina Group is one of the world's leading suppliers of forwarding and logistics services, specializing in end-to-end supply chain management solutions and intercontinental air freight and ocean freight shipments. Thanks to its in-depth industry know-how and state-of-the-art IT systems, Panalpina provides globally integrated door-to-door forwarding services tailored to its customers' individual needs. The Panalpina Group operates a close-knit network with some 500 branches in over 80 countries. In a further 80 countries, it cooperates closely with partner companies. Panalpina employs approximately 14,000 people worldwide. More information is available at: http://www.panalpina.com
