In Sichuan’s capital, Chengdu, leading executives of DHL Express and cargo carrier, China Central Airlines, met to agree on a cooperation. The outcome of the gathering was that both sides signed a letter of intent to start joint freighter operations. This will be enabled by two Triple Seven freighter aircraft provided by the integrator, that will be deployed on international routes. The multi-year agreement is the first one ever between the package delivery company and a Chinese cargo carrier.
The two B777-200 freighter aircraft belong to DHL’s fleet and will be utilized to strengthen DHL’s intercontinental e-commerce services. “This increases our capacity offering to the market and adds another puzzle piece to our global network,” says Sabine Hartmann, spokesperson for DHL Express. She adds to this that many technical, operational and staffing aspects still have to be carved out, since a letter of intent is just a memorandum of understanding aimed at joining forces without specifying the terms of the forthcoming collaboration. Therefore, network decisions or operational issues are still not defined. This also includes cockpit arrangements, whether Central Airlines’ own pilots will operate the aircraft or DHL own cockpit crew instead.

Dual logo on the hull
Since the deal was inked in Chengdu, it can be assumed that the aircraft will be based at Chengdu Tianfu Airport, located 51 km southeast of the city and operational since mid-2021. However, the letter of intent reveals no information on this.
In contrast, it has been agreed that the freighters will display the logo of both partners on their fuselage, following the proven dual livery example of Polar/DHL or Kalitta/DHL, where both companies’ names appear on the jointly operated freighters.
“The signing of the Letter of Intent is an important milestone for both parties in the process of establishing a partnership and is another important step for DHL Express to deliver its commitment to long term development in China, and to seek and deepen its cooperation with Chinese companies. The partnership with Central Airlines will further strengthen our capacity on intercontinental cargo routes from China, while providing more convenience and higher efficiency for Chinese enterprises to expand their businesses globally,” said Dongming Wu, CEO China at DHL Express.
Strengthening e-commerce traffic
Annie Hou, Chairman of Central Airlines, reacted to this statement with the following words: “We are very pleased to establish a partnership with DHL Express and are full of expectations and confidence in the prospects of cooperation between the two sides. The partnership fits well with our current B777 freighter operations planning. With the two additional B777-200 freighters, we will provide stronger capacity to support DHL Express and contribute to the development of cross border e-commerce and promoting China’s supply chain and Chinese firms going abroad.”
In MAY22, China Central Airlines filed an application to change its main operating base airport from Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport to Haikou Hainan Meilan International Airport. After approval, the freight carrier relocated its headquarters to Haikou Airport. Since AUG22, it is the first airline to run a full cargo main base in the Province of Hainan.