The first shipments of the new DSV Panalpina forwarding powerhouse have been moved through the combined networks of the two companies.
On Thursday, the US aerospace team of DSV flew an engine, or more precisely, engine parts, on the ‘Spirit of Panalpina’ from Huntsville to Luxembourg.
From there, the engine parts were trucked to Airbus’ production plant in Toulouse, France. It was the first time the new company served an existing customer through its combined network and the charter network in particular.
The engine parts, which were thrust reversers, are used in aircraft engines which are mounted onto Airbus A320neo aircraft.
DSV has been doing business with both the manufacturer of the reversers and the engine producer for more than 20 years.
Since 1990 Panalpina has been the only major freight forwarding company to offer its charter network for air freight. Now it acts as an in-house carrier for the whole DSV Panalpina network.
The network uses leased and chartered aircraft to guarantee capacity, and is structured to handle express and special shipments. One of the biggest benefits of the network is control. Not only does the company control aircraft on specific routes, it designs and oversees processes on the ground as well, ensuring the best possible control from door-to-door.
There will be many more opportunities to move aircraft parts and engines. In 2018, DSV’s aerospace division shipped 2,300 aircraft engines.
The next shipment is due coming Sunday. An engine that was overhauled in Hannover, Germany, will be trucked to Luxembourg and flown the opposite direction across the Atlantic to Mexico via Huntsville.
The $5.1 billion merger of DSV and Panalpina was completed last month.
