Start of Panalpina’s „Caribbean Star“ Air Freight Service

Panalpina’s end-to-end service from Puerto Rico to Europe brings new impetus to the transport of temperature sensitive pharmaceutical products.

The Panalpina Group is expanding its global air freight network to include a unique service from San Juan to Europe. The new end-to-end service direct from Puerto Rico to Luxembourg and Europe will operate in close collaboration with Cargolux.

This weekly service is the first time a cargo aircraft will regularly operate out of San Juan International Airport. Panalpina hereby guarantees its pharma customers in the region freight capacity on a Boeing 747-400F and also guarantees the best possible control of temperature sensitive goods on land and in the air.

Most internationally active pharma companies operate production centres in and around San Juan. They prefer using cargo aircraft for the transport of pharmaceuticals for the purpose of easier temperature control. Up to now, exporting companies in Puerto Rico could only export their goods in passenger aircraft from San Juan or in cargo ships from Aguadilla, 130 kilometres away.

„Our pharma customers can now ship their temperature sensitive goods in a cargo aircraft direct from their doorstep. This way we not only save them 130 km of road transport but also guarantee them the best possible control from door to door on land and in the air“, said Matthias Frey, international leader of Panalpina’s own air freight network.

A 747-400F will be used for the service called „Caribbean Star“ as part of a Cargolux scheduled flight. Before the cargo plane crosses the Atlantic, it first flies from Quito (Ecuador) to Bogota (Columbia) and subsequently direct to San Juan where Panalpina loads on the goods. From Luxembourg, Panalpina’s road shuttle service transports the goods to their destination in Europe.

Panalpina’s new service begins with the delivery of the goods to a very modern, 3,500m2 facility in San Juan. Different kinds of sensitive loads can be handled there – from dangerous or hazardous materials to valuable and temperature sensitive goods. The facility, which people also like to describe as the „coolest place in the Caribbean“, is only about two kilometres from San Juan International Airport.

Panalpina is already working on providing an additional service for the many pharma companies in the San Juan region. „Temperature sensitive freight is currently flown out of San Juan in special containers with active cooling. Our control over the environment from door to door also helps us transport goods with the help of passive cooling as well. This could reduce costs and provide our customers with an additional option. This is why we conduct tests on site and audit our passive cooling from San Juan“, said Ricardo Ortiz, Panalpina’s manager in Puerto Rico.

Quelle: LogEastics
Portal: www.logistik-express.com