SEATTLE,
The milestone airplane was delivered to Guggenheim Aviation Partners (GAP) and will be put into service by TNT, the Netherlands-based global express and mail delivery services company.
The arrival of the first TNT-owned Boeing 747 is a major step towards achieving our strategic objective of being the number one carrier between Asia and Europe, said Peter Bakker, TNT Chief Executive Officer. The aircraft will seamlessly link into TNTs air and road networks in
TNT currently operates a fleet of 46 aircraft that includes six Boeing 737 Freighters and one Boeing 757 Freighter. The company will add a second 747-400ER Freighter to its fleet in spring 2007, in cooperation with GAP.
We congratulate TNT as it adds the Boeing 747 Freighter the standard of the air cargo industry to its global fleet, said Marlin Dailey, vice president of
Investment funds managed by GAP currently own a fleet of 31 Boeing aircraft. Todays delivery is the first from an order for six 747-400ER Freighters placed in June 2005. The U.S.-based aviation investment firm placed additional orders earlier this year for four 747-8 Freighters and three 777 Freighters.
Boeing is the undisputed air cargo market leader, providing over 90 percent of the total worldwide dedicated freighter capacity. The Boeing 747 Freighter family alone carries half of the worlds air cargo. The 747 Freighter features a distinctive nose door, which allows increased revenue by accommodating high-value outsize shipments, and a side door, which provides superior efficiency and flexibility in ground operations.
In Boeing's World Air Cargo Forecast 2006/2007, Boeing forecasts that world air cargo growth is expected to expand at an average annual rate of 6.1 percent over the next 20 years. European air cargo markets comprise approximately one-third of the worlds air cargo traffic.
TNT [NYSE:TNT] provides businesses and consumers worldwide with an extensive range of services for their mail and express delivery needs. TNT offers efficient network infrastructures in