Panalpina took delivery on May 31 of the first of two brand-new Boeing 747-8 freighters, the first aircraft of the Swiss forwarder to carry its own name and logo.
The 747-8F, named “Spirit of Panalpina,” entered scheduled service the next day within the company’s own controlled airfreight network, flying to Hong Kong then taking off for Luxembourg with its first cargo on board, the company said.
The aircraft is being deployed on the Luxembourg-Huntsville route as well as on other routes.
In September 2011, Panalpina and Atlas Air, a global provider of outsourced aircraft and aviation operating services, signed a wet-lease agreement for two Boeing 747-8 freighters to replace two previous-generation 747-400 freighters. Delivery of the second 747-8F is foreseen for later in 2012.
The 747-8F offers 16 percent more capacity than the 747-400F and is more environmentally friendly, the company said.
“This… opens up new horizons for flexible and innovative air freight solutions, especially for our healthcare, hi-tech, automotive and oil and gas customers,” said Monika Ribar, Panalpina CEO.
Roughly 20 percent of Panalpina’s global airfreight volumes are handled by its in-house carrier network. The rest are procured by commercial carriers.
