DHL Express deploys helicopters for Chicago shippers

The express parcel carrier has had success with similar helicopter services in New York and Los Angeles, providing early morning delivery services to the areas’ financial and legal firms.    DHL Express has started a helicopter service in Chicago to provide early morning delivery services to the metropolitan area’s financial and legal firms requiring urgent document delivery. 
   “We have received tremendous customer feedback on our helicopter service in both New York and L.A., so it seemed natural that we would bring this innovative delivery method to Chicago, which also is a bustling financial epicenter,” said Mike Parra, chief executive officer of DHL Express in the United States.
   DHL Express is the only express delivery company in the United States to use helicopters for deliveries and introduced the helicopter into its Chicago operation to guarantee early morning delivery service, regardless of traffic bottlenecks. The service will be used by many globally-recognized financial and professional services customers.  
   International shipments headed to Chicago are processed at DHL’s Americas hub in Cincinnati before connecting to a flight bound for the Chicago O’Hare International Airport. Shipments are then separated, loaded into the DHL helicopter and transported to the new Vertiport Chicago in the Illinois Medical District. From there, a DHL courier meets the helicopter and provides the final mile delivery, the company explained. 
   The DHL helicopter, a Bell 206B3 Jet Ranger, is operated for DHL by Helimotion of Joliet, Illinois, and can transport up to 650 pounds of letters and packages.
   DHL introduced a helicopter service in Los Angeles in 2014 and has been using the service in New York for many years.