Chinanews.com, Berlin, January 13 (Reporter Peng Dawei) German express giant DHL and Boeing announced on the 12th that DHL Express will purchase eight new Boeing 777 freighters.

This move aims to further expand its intercontinental aviation network to meet the rapid development of the international express market and the ever-increasing customer demand.

The first cargo planes will be delivered in 2022.

　　Headquartered in Bonn, Germany, DHL is part of the Deutsche Post DHL group, which is one of the world's leading logistics companies.

　　"Driven by the continuous development of globalization and digitalization, as well as the strong transportation demand during the recent peak volume, our global e-commerce volume increased by more than 40% in the fourth quarter of last year."

　　John Pearson, chief executive of DHL Express, said that although the current epidemic crisis has pushed people's work and life and other aspects of the pause button, global trade has not stalled.

He said that e-commerce is the general trend of the future. Therefore, DHL took advantage of the trend and invested in additional 8 new freighters to plan ahead and prepare for 2021.

　　According to reports, the Boeing 777 Freighter is currently the world's largest and longest-range dual-engine wide-body freighter with a range of 9,200 kilometers (4970 nautical miles) and a maximum payload of more than 102 tons, which will effectively help DHL Express significantly reduce the operating costs of intercontinental flights.

Boeing pointed out in the previous "Global Air Cargo Market Forecast 2020" that in the next 20 years, the demand for new and modified freighters will increase significantly, and the global freighter fleet will grow by more than 60%.

　　DHL Express purchased 14 new Boeing 777 freighters in 2018 and has received 10 so far, which played an important role during the peak cargo volume last year.

The two parties also signed an order of intent for another four Boeing 777 freighters.

　　At present, DHL Express has more than 260 special planes and cooperates with 17 airlines. There are more than 600 flights to and from 220 countries and regions around the world every day.

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