When the “Spirit of Panalpina” took off for Hong Kong, it immediately entered scheduled cargo service for Panalpina and earned a place in company history as the first aircraft to carry the Panalpina name and logo.

Panalpina took delivery of the Boeing 747-8F at the Boeing plant where it flew to Hong Kong to pick up its first cargo and fly on to Luxembourg. The aircraft is being deployed on the Luxembourg / Huntsville route as well as other routes, said Panalpina.

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.

In September 2011, Panalpina and Atlas Air, a leading global provider of outsourced aircraft and aviation operating services, signed a wet-lease agreement for two Boeing 747-8 Freighters. They are replacing two previous generation 747-400 Freighters and the first of that type to be registered in the USA. The delivery of the second 747-8F is foreseen for later in 2012.

In other news, Avolon, the international aircraft leasing company, and Boeing celebrated the delivery of the first of 12 direct order Next-Generation Boeing 737-800s. This delivery is the first of four new Boeing 737-800s that will be placed on lease to Japan Airlines.