Express cargo specialist TNT is to lease two Boeing 747-400ER freighters from US lessor Guggenheim Aviation Partners, to provide dedicated capacity on routes between Europe and China.
It will take delivery of the first aircraft in November 2006, while the second will be introduced in June 2007. TNT says that cargo volumes between China and Europe have increased by 35% over the past year. One of the aircraft will be used on a four-times weekly service between TNT’s cargo hub at Liège in Belgium and Shanghai. The other 747 will enable the operator to increase this frequency to at least five flights, and possibly to nine.