DHL Express has commenced services for the fifth and final Boeing 777 freighter it deployed as part of an earlier deal with Singapore Airlines (SIA).

The freighter — with a payload capacity of 102 tons — will be based in Singapore and joins the four other Boeing 777 freighters already deployed in Singapore to boost inter-continental connectivity between Asia Pacific and the Americas.

Sporting a dual DHL-SIA livery, these five freighters provide a total of 1,224 tons of payload capacity and operate 12 flights per week to meet growing customer demand for international express shipping services.

"Starting December 2023, three of the five Boeing 777 freighters will ply the Singapore-Bangkok/Taipei-Incheon/Nagoya-Cincinnati-Honolulu-Sydney-Singapore route seven times a week," the announcement said.

It added that the other two will cover the Singapore-Nagoya-Los Angeles-Honolulu-Singapore route five times a week. 

"With these services, DHL Express significantly enhances its international air network capacity by taking advantage of Singapore's strategic location and position as a key air cargo and logistics hub," it said, noting that those looking to ship between Asia Pacific and the US West Coast can expect shortened delivery times to one day for their cross-border time-sensitive shipments. 

"Both Asia and the United States are major economic powerhouses with significant trade flows. We continue to see significant demand for shipments between the two regions due to a huge volume of cross-border e-commerce and trade activities," said Ken Lee, CEO of Asia Pacific, DHL Express.

"In the last four years, shipment volume between Asia Pacific (excluding China) and the US increased by more than 20%," he added.

"As we seek to improve trade connectivity between Asia and the United States, deploying these five freighters enables us to provide efficient and rapid logistics solutions for Asia Pacific shippers. Having Singapore Airlines as our partner to operate and maintain these aircraft also bolsters our customer service quality," Lee further said.

In March 2022, DHL Express and SIA signed the Crew and Maintenance agreement, where SIA would operate and oversee the maintenance of the five Boeing 777 freighters deployed at the South Asia Hub.

DHL Express welcomed the first freighter in August 2022.

These five Boeing 777 freighters are part of DHL Express' order book of 28 Boeing 777 freighters since the first purchase was made in 2018.