DHL to add five more 777Fs this year

DHL Express has given an updated timeline of its 777F deliveries this year and expects to receive five more units before the end of 2020. The express integrator has already taken delivery of one 777F (66083) this year.

Unit 66083, ferried from Paine Field (PAE) to Oscoda (OSC) on Feb. 6, was then brought to the DHL hub in Cincinnati (CVG) on Feb. 20. Operated on a CMI basis by U.S.-based Kalitta Air, it has begun operations, having made a round trip from CVG to Brussels (BRU) on Feb. 21, and to Leipzig (LEJ) on Feb. 22.

The next 777F for DHL (66084) will also be operated by Kalitta Air. That aircraft has just begun flight tests at Boeing’s Everett facility.

DHL ordered fourteen 777Fs, with options for up to seven more, in July 2018. It has taken delivery of four aircraft apart from unit 66083. Two units each have been placed on a CMI basis with Atlas Air-affiliate Southern Air and AeroLogic, a 50-50 joint venture of DHL Express and Lufthansa Cargo.

The remaining four aircraft on firm order will enter service in 2021, according to DHL.