DHL Express buys 13 Airbus planes for conversion
DHL Express has purchased 13 Airbus A300-600 planes for its European network. The craft, which were built between 1991 and 1994, will be converted to freighters by Dresden, Germany-based EADS Elbe Flugzeugwerke. The planes were previously used as passenger craft by a Japanese carrier.
EADS will begin converting the first plane in early June and will start converting up to four additional planes this year. These planes will replace the company's A300B4-200 planes, which will be retired when all the new planes are delivered by early 2013. A spokesman for EADS said the agreement is the company's largest firm order.
"The A300-600 is a very attractive mid-range aircraft and the perfect fit for our European air network," said Bryan Jamison, DHL's managing director, network operations, Europe. "By introducing this aircraft now, we can ensure continuously high reliability and on-time performance for the years to come, while we are also able to take a big leap ahead towards our goal of reducing our carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2020."
According to a DHL press release, the new planes "can carry up to five tons more than the A300-B4-200 while at the same time having a 900 kilometers longer range and with up to 20 percent less fuel consumption."
