DHL has upgraded the freighter it flies between Melbourne and Auckland courier, as well as adding a stop to Christchurch on its Auckland to Sydney express route (file picture). Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
An increase in airfreight capacity is set to give exporters more options to get goods overseas faster as demand for freight continues to climb post-Covid.
The international courier DHL has upgraded the freighter it flies between Melbourne and Auckland, doubling its capacity to 24 unit load devices in the main deck, with five overnight services a week.
DHL Express managing director for New Zealand and the Pacific Islands Mark Foy said the upgrades, which have been running for about a month now, were demand-driven and had taken advantage of the rebound in commercial aviation space available.
It allowed exporters to return to a sense of pre-Covid normality, he said.
"During Covid-19, people stockpiled inventory because there was a real challenge to get freight in and out of New Zealand.
"I think now, they can move back more towards the just-in-time model, where we were able to service out of Australia overnight, and then that connects to our network into Asia, into the USA [and] up into Europe, and therefore businesses don't need to hold so much stock, they can rely on the transit times that DHL Express provides."
Foy said the courier also added a stop to Christchurch on its Auckland to Sydney express route, giving fresh produce and product exporters in the South Island faster overseas delivery options.
"What we're seeing out of Christchurch is a number of New Zealand retailers that like to service Australia, both from a business-to-business and a business-to-consumer standpoint from New Zealand.
"So you can warehouse in New Zealand, you can then ship overnight into Australia, and that's as competitive as if you were having a warehouse in Australia.
"The connection between the North and South Islands provides the much-needed freight capacity demand to handle the volume growth we are seeing."