The Icelandair Group has signed a lucrative deal with DB Schenker for 45 cargo flights between Shanghai in China and Munich in Germany, transporting medical equipment for health care providers across Europe. Additional flights from Shanghai to Chicago, USA, through Iceland are also part of the agreement. Whilst the agreement is for an initial 45 flights, both parties have already agreed to continue with additional flights to China as long as needed.
Icelandair will reconfigure three Boeing 767 aircraft that will see the passenger's seats removed so that a freight load can be accommodated in the passenger cabin. Icelandair Cargo and Loftleidir Icelandic – the Company’s aircraft leasing and consulting business will manage the preparation and execution of the flights.
Bogi Nils Bogason, CEO Icelandair Group said: "This is an important agreement for Icelandair Group during times of significant loss of revenue from our passenger network following the COVID-19 outbreak. In this project we combine our expertise on cargo transport and organising charter flights around the world. One of the key strengths of Icelandair Group is the flexibility to be able to respond quickly to opportunities and execute them in a short period of time. It is also a pleasure to participate in such an important project and find innovative solutions that contribute to the fight of the global pandemic that the world is currently facing."
This new cargo deal is a lifeline for the Icelandic company that has been seeking a capital injection from the Icelandic government, investors and banks in an effort to cope with the fallout of business due to the coronavirus COVID-19 crisis.
Yesterday, we flew medical supplies from Shanghai to Iceland. Before landing at KEF, our flight path drew a heart over the hospitals in Reykjavik to show gratitude to our healthcare workers. Takk fyrir, to everyone who’s working hard to keep us all safe💙✈️https://t.co/8Ew7HY8Zhy pic.twitter.com/giRP2BTu3i— Icelandair (@Icelandair) April 20, 2020
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