DHL Express’ idea to boost capacity and cut operating costs is nearing completion.
The German carrier has taken delivery of its first of 8 firm A330-300 passenger-to-freighter (P2F) aircraft following completion of test flights in October and award of type certification in November.
DHL have an additional option to procure 10 A330-300s.
The aircraft are currently configured to a 26-pallet cargo configuration, capable of carrying up to 61 metric tonnes of payload and has a range of 3,650 nautical miles making it substantially more efficient that any other aircraft with the same range.
“We are quite thrilled to introduce the first A330-300P2F into commercial operations within our global air route, The A330-300 aircraft is expected to bolster our network in the Asia Pacific region by adding capacity and efficiency to the market where we foresee a strong express cargo volume growth,“ said Geoff Kehr, DHL’s Global Fleet Manager.
The first aircrafts history:
- November 1995 Delivered as 9M-MKI to Malaysian Airlines
- September 2012 Stored as G-CIOH
- December 2016 Sold to EAT Leipzig (Owned by STA Aero) P2F conversion planned, registered as D-AAEA
- 2017/2018 Certification obtained, re-registered to ASL Airlines Ireland as EI-HEA to enter service on behalf as DHL
The aircraft is being converted by ST Aerospace-Airbus joint venture, Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW) and delivery of the second A333(P3F) is expected in early 2018.
DHL currently operate a fleet consisting of:
- 28 Boeing 757
- 8 Boeing 767
- 21 Airbus A300
- 2 Airbus A330
This includes DHL Aero Expreso, DHL Air, DHL Aviation, DHL International and EAT Leipzig
