Freight Condor performs cargo flights for DHL Express

Instead of passengers, German airline Condor is now using their Boeing 767-300 aircraft to transport freight goods. The flights are taking off on behalf of DHL Express and the decision was made by Condor as travel demand is still low due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first cargo flights under the new partnership took off last week. In total, four Boeing 767-300ER passenger aircraft are being used for services throughout Europe. The aircraft are stationed at DHL Express´ hub at Leipzig in Germany. Most common routes are flights to Shannon in Ireland, Milan-Malpensa in Italy and to Cologne in Germany.

Condor stated that the partnership is initially limited until the end of May. In the future, the flights could also be used to transport COVID-19 vaccines. To perform all flights safely and to transport as much cargo as possible, the 767s are being temporarily converted to freighter aircraft.

Regarding the cooperation, Christian Schmitt, COO of Condor, said: "We have already been operating more cargo flights over the past year and have expanded our expertise here. We are very pleased to now also work with such an experienced partner as DHL Express […] The partnership also shows that Condor can flexibly adapt to circumstances in special situations and thus contribute an important part to the international supply chain in cooperation with DHL."

Markus Otto, Senior Vice President Aviation Europe at DHL Express, added: "This firm partnership between Cargo and Passage is unique so far […] It enables us to respond even faster and more flexibly to the continued high customer demand for international express shipping. The additional Condor capacity will enable us to further improve our service quality and transit times and continue on our growth path."

Since last year in April, Condor has been operating more cargo flights as the demand for e-commerce goods exploded. The airline also carried medical protective equipment like masks, suits and gloves. During this time, Condor used 14 of its 16 767s for freight operations.

To ensure smooth operations and fast conversions, Condor has deployed special cargo supervisors. To make cargo flights happen, seats of the aircraft were expanded, so that more freight could be stored inside of the aircraft.

During the freight operations, Condor is still serving flights to popular vacancy destinations in Egypt, Cuba, the Maldives, the Dominican Republic or the Canary Islands.