DHL WORLDWIDE Express is to invest $30 million over the next three years to expand its Latin American and Caribbean network. Initially, the fast-package carrier will upgrade its Panama hub with a new automated sorting system and introduce a Boeing 727-200F freighter service operated by new Panamanian carrier DHL Aero Expreso.
The new carrier has received Government approval to operate the Miami-Panama-Miami route beginning in the first quarter of 1996. The 727 service will replace cargo space provided by another airline, and will increase per-sector capacity from 6,800kg to 27,250kg, DHL says. The company says that Panama is re-emerging as a Latin American trade centre.
DHL is also negotiating to upgrade its Latin American network by replacing the Dassault Falcon 20 freighters now used with converted Boeing 737-200s. The 737s will have a 13,600kg freight capacity, compared with the converted business-jets' 2,270kg cargo capability, DHL says.
Source: Flight International
