Condor begins ops for DHL; Bahraini DHL airline adds B767

Condor (DE, Frankfurt Int’l) has increased its presence in the cargo market with a new contract to operate four B767-300(ER)s on behalf of DHL Express. The leisure specialist will base four of its fifteen Boeing widebodies out of Leipzig/Halle. The aircraft, D-ABUA (msn 26991), D-ABUF (msn 26985), D-ABUH (msn 26986), and D-ABUI (msn 26988), have all been reconfigured into makeshift freighters with passenger seats removed, and will operate to Shannon, Milan Malpensa, and Cologne/Bonn. Condor’s operations for DHL began on February 22 and will continue until at least the end of May 2021. “We already carried out more cargo flights last year and expanded our expertise there. The partnership also shows that Condor can adapt flexibly to circumstances in special situations and thus contribute an important part to the international supply chain in cooperation with DHL,” said Condor’s chief operating officer, Christian Schmitt. According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, Condor has converted a total of ten B767-300(ER)s into makeshift freighters. Nearly all of the fifteen aircraft, including those that were not converted, have been used for cargo-only flights as the carrier’s traditional long-haul passenger leisure market was decimated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Condor does not operate any dedicated freighters and had not been active on the cargo market prior to the pandemic. DHL also charters two B767 freighters from other European carriers: one B767-200(PC) from Denmark’s Star Air (Denmark) (SRR, Copenhagen Kastrup) for services between Leipzig and Rome Ciampino and one B767-200(SF) from Poland’s SkyTaxi (Poland) (TE, Wroclaw), which is deployed in the Middle East between Bahrain Int’l and Kuwait on behalf of DHL International Aviation Middle East. DHL’s in-house British carrier DHL Air operates three B767-300F. The logistics firm also charters multiple B767 freighters in the Americas from 21 Air, ABX Air, ATI – Air Transport International, Atlas Air, Kalitta Air, and Mas Air (on top of in-house unit DHL Aero Expreso), as well as one B767-300F from Australia’s Tasman Cargo Airlines. Meanwhile, Bahrain’s DHL International Aviation Middle East, which operates six in-house B767-200(SF)s, is set to add its first B767-300(ERBDSF), the carrier confirmed to ch-aviation. N348AN (msn 33087) was converted at México City Int’l and ferried to Shannon in December 2020 ahead of the planned delivery to Bahrain by the end of February. It will be re-registered as A9C-DHS.