DHL Express gets creative with new aviation partnerships

Parcel carrier enlists travel airline Condor and a Latvian carrier with the all-new A321 converted freighter to help with cargo demand

Condor flies people to tourist destinations. Now it's carrying parcels for DHL Express too. (Photo: DHL)

DHL Express last week made two unusual additions to its roster of contract carriers that bring with them extra aircraft to help the parcel carrier meet escalating growth in e-commerce shipments.

The express delivery arm of postal and logistics giant Deutsche Post DHL Group (DIX: DPW) arranged for German leisure airline Condor and a start-up cargo division of Latvian carrier SmartLynx to fly packages in its European air network.

The first cargo flights under the Condor partnership began last week. Condor, a charter carrier for tourists, will operate four of its Boeing 767 medium-size jets for DHL until the end of May. The Condor planes will be based at DHL Express’ largest European hub in Leipzig, Germany and cover three routes - to Shannon, Ireland; Milan-Malpensa, Italy; and Cologne, Germany. DHL suggested the initial contract could be extended.

It’s the latest example of smaller passenger airlines diversifying business amid a severe downturn in travel demand and establishing full cargo divisions for the first time. The Condor deal resembles what DHL has done in the U.S. where regional carrier Mesa Air Group in October began flying converted Boeing 737-400s, an aircraft it never operated before, on DHL’s behalf. 

Air Belgium is scheduled to begin operating four Airbus A-330 owned by ocean carrier CMA CGM - taking the concept of diversification to another level. And U.S. low-cost travel airline Sun Country last year began operating 737-800 freighters for Amazon Air.

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    Eric Kulisch

    Eric is the Supply Chain and Air Cargo Editor at FreightWaves. An award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering the logistics sector, Eric spent nearly two years as the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Automotive News, where he focused on regulatory and policy issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, mobility, fuel economy and safety. He has won two regional Gold Medals and a Silver Medal from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for government and trade coverage, and news analysis. He was voted best for feature writing and commentary in the Trade/Newsletter category by the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He was runner up for News Journalist and Supply Chain Journalist of the Year in the Seahorse Freight Association's 2024 journalism award competition. In December 2022, Eric was voted runner up for Air Cargo Journalist. He won the group's Environmental Journalist of the Year award in 2014 and was the 2013 Supply Chain Journalist of the Year. As associate editor at American Shipper Magazine for more than a decade, he wrote about trade, freight transportation and supply chains. He has appeared on Marketplace, ABC News and National Public Radio to talk about logistics issues in the news. Eric is based in Vancouver, Washington. He can be reached for comments and tips at ekulisch@freightwaves.com