Atlas Air puts the first Panalpina Boeing 747-800F into revenue service flying the Luxembourg-Huntsville route

Atlas Air (New York) has put the first Boeing 747-87UF (N850GT) into revenue service for Swiss freight forwarder Panalpina (Basel/Mulhouse).

For the first time in the company’s history, an aircraft with Panalpina’s name and logo takes to the skies. Following hand-over ceremony, the 747-8F with the tail number N850GT took off from Paine Field in Everett nearby Seattle and flew to Hong Kong. In Hong Kong the aircraft named the “Spirit of Panalpina” immediately entered scheduled service within Panalpina’s unique own controlled air freight network.

From Hong Kong, the 747-8F flew to Luxembourg with the first cargo on board. It is pictured above arriving in LUX. The aircraft is being deployed on the Luxembourg-Huntsville, Alabama route as well as other routes. Panalpina launched the Luxembourg-Huntsville route, also known as the “Dixie Jet”, as the very first own controlled service in 1990. Within the own controlled air freight network Panalpina can be particularly responsive to individual requirements, also on short notice, because the freight forwarder can arrange its own capacity.

In September 2011, Panalpina and Atlas Air, signed a wet-lease agreement for two Boeing 747-8 Freighters. They are replacing two Boeing 747-400 Freighters. The delivery of the second 747-8F is foreseen for later in 2012.

The 747-8F offers 16% more capacity than the 747-400F. It is also more environmentally friendly with double digit improvements in fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions and a noise footprint reduction by 30%.

The new 747-8F adds further value to Panalpina’s own controlled air freight network. One of the aircraft’s innovative features is that two controlled temperature ranges can be maintained at the same time: One for 2 to 8 degrees Celsius (cold chain) and one for 15 to 25 degrees Celsius (controlled room temperature). Full visibility of temperature monitoring is guaranteed, from pick-up via Panalpina’s air freight hubs to final point of delivery. The secure and temperature controlled transport of products is a must within the healthcare industry.

Atlas Air: