Successful completion of leasing agreement for eight aircraft
Pilot recruitment underway
"The new venture will benefit from the boom in transcontinental traffic."
Frankfurt/Bonn, 28 January 2008 - Charles Graham, Chief Executive Officer DHL Aviation, and Carsten Spohr, CEO and Chairman of Lufthansa Cargo AG, today launched the new cargo carrier "AeroLogic" at an event in Frankfurt. DHL Express and Lufthansa Cargo each have a 50 per cent stake in AeroLogic, which will be based in Leipzig/Schkeuditz at Leipzig/Halle Airport.
The AeroLogic logo will be emblazoned in grey and yellow on the fuselage of the Boeing 777-200LRFs with which the new airline will launch its operations next year.
Speaking at the launch Carsten Spohr commented: "The name AeroLogic is perfectly suited to the aspirations and objectives we have set for the carrier. It is the culmination of a successful partnership that has existed for many years between DHL Express and Lufthansa Cargo. The neutral brand symbolises our offer of competent and competitive transport services right across the air cargo sector."
Charles Graham expressed great satisfaction with the speed in which the airline was developed and prepared for launch. "The successful completion of the leasing agreement for the first eight Boeing 777-200LRFs marks an important milestone," said Graham. "We wanted the 777 model because it fulfils our stringent requirements for top quality performance and environmental efficiency. The first four aircraft are scheduled for delivery in 2009. "That will enable us to gradually build up AeroLogic's route network. Four more freighters will follow in 2010, a further two in 2011. And we plan to add a reserve aircraft to the fleet in 2012."
Both managers are confident that the new venture will benefit from the continued growth in transcontinental traffic.
Alongside building up the fleet and route network, AeroLogic has recruited a new management team to strengthen the airline. The experienced team is headed up by joint Managing Directors Dr. Thomas Papke (formerly Lufthansa Cargo) and Thomas Pusch (formerly DHL Express) and consists of Josef Moser as Director of Flight Operations, Wolfgang John as Director of Human Resources, Christian Schmucker as Director of Maintenance and Boris Hueske as Director of Finance.
Dr. Thomas Papke, Managing Director of AeroLogic said: "We have created a strong and experienced management team to help us face the challenges of running an air cargo carrier and achieve our goal of ranking among the top five cargo carriers in Europe. We can only achieve this goal if we have outstanding individuals and I believe the team is ideally placed to offer AeroLogic both specialist expertise and creativity."
"Today marks the start of another important phase before the launch of the first AeroLogic freighter," commented Managing Director Thomas Pusch, whose remit also includes Human Resources. "We are encouraging pilots to apply to join this exciting new venture via our website www.aerologic.aero. We are looking for around 200 pilots and we can offer them an extremely attractive working environment with competitive conditions and the opportunity to fly a route network which, in addition to the major Asian cities, includes exciting destinations across North America. We also operate the world's most technologically advanced freighter aircraft," Pusch added.
AeroLogic will launch operations in Leipzig at the start of the 2009 summer timetable.
-Ends-
Note for news editors:
The latest photos are available for downloading from www.aerologic.aero
AeroLogic GmbH
Aerologic GmbH is jointly owned by DHL Express and Lufthansa Cargo AG, with each company holding a 50 per cent stake. The airline, which was founded in September 2007 and is based at Leipzig/Schkeuditz, developed from the joint venture set up by the two partners in 2004. The company currently has about 20 employees. In all, AeroLogic is expected to generate about 250 new jobs, roughly 200 of which will be for cockpit crew. By 2012, the AeroLogic fleet will encompass eleven leased Boeing 777-200LRFs, the first four of which are scheduled for delivery at the beginning of 2009. AeroLogic's cargo capacities will mainly be used by DHL Express and Lufthansa Cargo. The two partners will also be responsible for sales and warehouse handling. Operations are being planned around both partners' requirements: on weekdays, freighters will fly to Asian destinations in the express network operated by DHL Express. At weekends, they will supplement Lufthansa Cargo's services. For customers of the parent companies, AeroLogic will mean more capacity, more flexibility, an expanded network and improved operating times.
DHL
DHL is the global leader in innovative, international express and logistics services from a single source. DHL offers pooled knowledge and experience in express and freight transports, contract logistics and international mail shipments, combined with a global presence and local expertise. DHL's international network links 220 countries and territories around the world. The company has more than 300,000 employees, who are dedicated to providing a fast and reliable service and to exceeding their customers' expectations on a daily basis. The DHL brand is owned by Deutsche Post World Net. In the 2006 financial year, the group generated 60 billion euros in revenue.
Lufthansa Cargo AG
Lufthansa Cargo ranks among the world's leading cargo carriers. In the 2007 financial year, the airline transported more than 1.81 million tonnes of freight and mail and clocked up 8.5 billion tonne-kilometres. The company currently employs about 4,600 people worldwide. Lufthansa Cargo focuses on the airport-to-airport business. The cargo carrier serves some 360 destinations with its own fleet of freighters and also uses the belly capacities of Lufthansa's passenger aircraft. The bulk of the freight transported by Lufthansa Cargo is trans-shipped through Frankfurt, Europe's largest airport. Lufthansa Cargo is a wholly owned Lufthansa subsidiary. In the 2006 financial year, it posted 2.84 billion euros in revenue.
Press contacts:
Brigitta Ebeling
AeroLogic GmbH
Industriestraße 56
D-04435 Schkeuditz
Phone: +49 (0) 341 4499 -2153
Fax: +49 (0) 341 4499 -2099
E-mail: brigitta.ebeling@aerologic.aero
Claus Korfmacher
Media Relations
Corporate Communications
Deutsche Post AG
Charles-de-Gaulle-Str. 20
D-53113 Bonn
Phone: +49 (0) 228 182 -9917
Fax: +49 (0) 228 182 -9880
E-mail: claus.korfmacher@deutschepost.de
Nils Haupt
Corporate Communications
Lufthansa Cargo AG
Gate 25, Building 451e, Room 3579
D-60546 Frankfurt am Main
Phone: +49 (0) 69 696 -91123
Fax: +49 (0) 69 696 -91185
E-mail: nils.haupt@dlh.de
© Press Release 2008