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A Different view why DHL is taking so long right now

ccm303

Horology Curious
16/3/15
5
23
3
Hi guys, I’ve been a longtime member but haven’t posted. I’ve just read and learned, and have a few reps that I’ve obtained over the past few years off of what I’ve learned here at RWI. Thanks to all you guys. Ive noticed a lot of posts recently about DHL shipping delays. I work for one of the DHL airlines as a Pilot and wanted to give a little insight at least from my perspective over the last few months.

First off DHL is not like Fedex and UPS is the sense that FDX and UPS own there own airlines. It’s there airplanes, pilots, mechanics, etc. DHL contracts there flying out to various airlines. Which is good and bad. If one airline under performs, you cut there contract and get another airline. But you have no “direct” control of the planes, pilots, mechanics. So contract negotiations, labor disputes can effect performance but overall the system actually works really well. Actually compared to FDX and UPS, if DHL owned all of the planes and airlines it contracts, it would be the biggest airline in the world.

The loads right now out almost every station is absolutely maxed out. Seeing some where between 50-60% load on a freighter was pretty normal Pre-COVID. Since then we have been maxed out at 100% of available load. Now I say available load because the longer the flight, the less payload we can take because we require more fuel. On my aircraft, the 767, even on a long flight we can generally take about 80-90% load capacity, so we aren’t too affected. But the bigger birds are flying 12-16 hour flights, which definitely require fuel over payload. HKG is crazy, as well as ICN, NRT, and CVG right now.

DHL also doesn’t care about fuel cost. We fly the DHL birds at a high cost index, which means fly faster, burn more gas, but get to the destination faster, which is what DHL cares about. The cargo literally can’t move any faster. 30 seconds after we shutdown the engines the doors are opening and cargo is flying off.

I’ve seen a post about more flights to Asia. Well, unfortunately routes to Asia are restricted buy route and landing rights. So even if DHL wanted more flights to ICN, NRT, HKG, Only a few of the contracted airlines have those route rights. Thus if those airlines are already maxed out and using every airplane available, it can’t be done. Another airline cannot use someone else’s route rights, even if the flight is contracted out to DHL.

I can’t speak for the customs side of things because that is something the flight crew is not directly involved in but I’ve seen how many pallets are waiting to go through so I can imagine how backed up it is. Try to be patient, PPE is definitely still being prioritized and planes are maxed. On the flight crew side, we are working hard to keep the cargo moving. Delays happen but that’s part of the business.

Don’t go hard on your TDs due to shipping delays. They aren’t driving the vans or flying the planes to ship your rep. I have a rep out in the DHL system right now, it’s been longer then I’ve wanted but it’s on the way. The system is maxed out, and it’s moving as safely and fast as possible right now.

Stay Safe
 
Last edited:

p0pperini

patr0n h0arder
Gold Patron
Certified
29/1/19
8,895
29,421
113
UK
Ouch. That’s a lot of words in one big delivery. Maybe think about breaking it into more manageable packages? I mean paragraphs...
 

OiRogers

Renowned Member
24/8/06
865
28
28
Thanks for posting that info up ccm303, it certainly helps explain the delays we’ve been seeing.

I’ve seen the delays impacting other industries / hobbies as well, so I had to assume it was more than just a customs issue.
 

p0pperini

patr0n h0arder
Gold Patron
Certified
29/1/19
8,895
29,421
113
UK
Sorry, you are right. Kind of slipped my mind.
Thanks for updating it buddy! And also, thanks for the informative post - it's interesting to hear about the world of logistics from another perspective.
 

James2020

Active Member
1/6/20
422
175
43
^ Agree. Tks for sharing this Interesting insight
 
Last edited:

trailboss99

Head Honcho - Cat Herder
Staff member
Administrator
Certified
30/3/08
42,448
12,351
113
Good post well explained.
 

DiggerOfWatches

Senior Member
Gold Patron
Certified
4/7/19
1,561
5,657
113
Down Under
Thanks for the insightful post.
I can’t see things getting better in the near future but waiting a while for a watch is not such a bad thing compared to millions of others in the world and what they’re dealing with.

stay safe folks...
 
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bpbp

Renowned Member
14/12/13
883
184
43
USA
Hi guys, I’ve been a longtime member but haven’t posted. I’ve just read and learned, and have a few reps that I’ve obtained over the past few years off of what I’ve learned here at RWI. Thanks to all you guys. Ive noticed a lot of posts recently about DHL shipping delays. I work for one of the DHL airlines as a Pilot and wanted to give a little insight at least from my perspective over the last few months.

First off DHL is not like Fedex and UPS is the sense that FDX and UPS own there own airlines. It’s there airplanes, pilots, mechanics, etc. DHL contracts there flying out to various airlines. Which is good and bad. If one airline under performs, you cut there contract and get another airline. But you have no “direct” control of the planes, pilots, mechanics. So contract negotiations, labor disputes can effect performance but overall the system actually works really well. Actually compared to FDX and UPS, if DHL owned all of the planes and airlines it contracts, it would be the biggest airline in the world.

The loads right now out almost every station is absolutely maxed out. Seeing some where between 50-60% load on a freighter was pretty normal Pre-COVID. Since then we have been maxed out at 100% of available load. Now I say available load because the longer the flight, the less payload we can take because we require more fuel. On my aircraft, the 767, even on a long flight we can generally take about 80-90% load capacity, so we aren’t too affected. But the bigger birds are flying 12-16 hour flights, which definitely require fuel over payload. HKG is crazy, as well as ICN, NRT, and CVG right now.

DHL also doesn’t care about fuel cost. We fly the DHL birds at a high cost index, which means fly faster, burn more gas, but get to the destination faster, which is what DHL cares about. The cargo literally can’t move any faster. 30 seconds after we shutdown the engines the doors are opening and cargo is flying off.

I’ve seen a post about more flights to Asia. Well, unfortunately routes to Asia are restricted buy route and landing rights. So even if DHL wanted more flights to ICN, NRT, HKG, Only a few of the contracted airlines have those route rights. Thus if those airlines are already maxed out and using every airplane available, it can’t be done. Another airline cannot use someone else’s route rights, even if the flight is contracted out to DHL.

I can’t speak for the customs side of things because that is something the flight crew is not directly involved in but I’ve seen how many pallets are waiting to go through so I can imagine how backed up it is. Try to be patient, PPE is definitely still being prioritized and planes are maxed. On the flight crew side, we are working hard to keep the cargo moving. Delays happen but that’s part of the business.

Don’t go hard on your TDs due to shipping delays. They aren’t driving the vans or flying the planes to ship your rep. I have a rep out in the DHL system right now, it’s been longer then I’ve wanted but it’s on the way. The system is maxed out, and it’s moving as safely and fast as possible right now.

Stay Safe

OP, do u know what's the time frame ship from HK to California now?
 

geoxman

Banned member, the goat does not approve
Banned
20/2/19
40
7
0
I got my DHL package, delivered, in MO from HK in 3 days
 

OiRogers

Renowned Member
24/8/06
865
28
28
OP, do u know what's the time frame ship from HK to California now?

Not the OP... but once it actually gets into the hands of DHL, the timeframe is well under a week.
At this point, the biggest bottleneck is *getting* it into the DHL network from the couriers.
 
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gilrob

Legendary Member
Supporter
25/10/15
10,514
2,111
113
Las Vegas, Nevada
Not the OP... but once it actually gets into the hands of DHL, the timeframe is well under a week.
At this point, the biggest bottleneck is *getting* it into the DHL network from the couriers.

This is true for Nevada as well.
 

bpbp

Renowned Member
14/12/13
883
184
43
USA
I got my DHL package, delivered, in MO from HK in 3 days

My question about is my TD said they shipped my watch on July 31th. But what I see my tracking info is still show the package still not pick up by DHL yet.
My TD said it's because delay with update.not sure what's real going on here.
 

sneaky305

Known Member
16/7/20
168
192
43
crazy florida
My question about is my TD said they shipped my watch on July 31th. But what I see my tracking info is still show the package still not pick up by DHL yet.
My TD said it's because delay with update.not sure what's real going on here.

This is also occurred to me and it was in a fact not updated, it was 5 days that it said package is picked up and then all of a sudden it changed to it having gone through several checkpoints already.
 

Kalev007

I'm Pretty Popular
25/6/19
1,734
2,796
113
Hi guys, I’ve been a longtime member but haven’t posted. I’ve just read and learned, and have a few reps that I’ve obtained over the past few years off of what I’ve learned here at RWI. Thanks to all you guys. Ive noticed a lot of posts recently about DHL shipping delays. I work for one of the DHL airlines as a Pilot and wanted to give a little insight at least from my perspective over the last few months.

First off DHL is not like Fedex and UPS is the sense that FDX and UPS own there own airlines. It’s there airplanes, pilots, mechanics, etc. DHL contracts there flying out to various airlines. Which is good and bad. If one airline under performs, you cut there contract and get another airline. But you have no “direct” control of the planes, pilots, mechanics. So contract negotiations, labor disputes can effect performance but overall the system actually works really well. Actually compared to FDX and UPS, if DHL owned all of the planes and airlines it contracts, it would be the biggest airline in the world.

The loads right now out almost every station is absolutely maxed out. Seeing some where between 50-60% load on a freighter was pretty normal Pre-COVID. Since then we have been maxed out at 100% of available load. Now I say available load because the longer the flight, the less payload we can take because we require more fuel. On my aircraft, the 767, even on a long flight we can generally take about 80-90% load capacity, so we aren’t too affected. But the bigger birds are flying 12-16 hour flights, which definitely require fuel over payload. HKG is crazy, as well as ICN, NRT, and CVG right now.

DHL also doesn’t care about fuel cost. We fly the DHL birds at a high cost index, which means fly faster, burn more gas, but get to the destination faster, which is what DHL cares about. The cargo literally can’t move any faster. 30 seconds after we shutdown the engines the doors are opening and cargo is flying off.

I’ve seen a post about more flights to Asia. Well, unfortunately routes to Asia are restricted buy route and landing rights. So even if DHL wanted more flights to ICN, NRT, HKG, Only a few of the contracted airlines have those route rights. Thus if those airlines are already maxed out and using every airplane available, it can’t be done. Another airline cannot use someone else’s route rights, even if the flight is contracted out to DHL.

I can’t speak for the customs side of things because that is something the flight crew is not directly involved in but I’ve seen how many pallets are waiting to go through so I can imagine how backed up it is. Try to be patient, PPE is definitely still being prioritized and planes are maxed. On the flight crew side, we are working hard to keep the cargo moving. Delays happen but that’s part of the business.

Don’t go hard on your TDs due to shipping delays. They aren’t driving the vans or flying the planes to ship your rep. I have a rep out in the DHL system right now, it’s been longer then I’ve wanted but it’s on the way. The system is maxed out, and it’s moving as safely and fast as possible right now.

Stay Safe

I'm in air freight forwarding and know the situation also well we have lot of air cargo from China.

Things aren't getting really any better they're getting a bit worse actually right now. The "passenger freighters" are being pulled off the market due to air cargo rates falling to a level that it's not economical to operate these anymore. Also the freighters flew during first months of the quarantine more than they do normally during one year so these are all heading to maintenance and so are off the market. So capacity for air cargo is going down right now.

Passenger flights are now back on minimal schedules on some routes but that's still very very minor compared to what it was before.

Luckily the PPE rush is now over so free space for cargo is found easily and rates are more down to earth then they use to be. For me the PPE rush was a good thing a year worth of air cargo revenue in 3 months.

DHL, UPS, TNT these are all lotteries right now you can have it in 7 days or in 60 days you never know and there's nothing you can do about it.
 
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manuelmay

Active Member
6/12/18
275
69
28
That's interesting. Anyway, in my experience, the lomg wait is before DHL handled the package