United Parcel Service (UPS), a global leader in logistics, has launched direct flights from Hong Kong to Europe, to enable the widest next-day delivery coverage for both packages and heavy freight.

With the addition of four direct flights, UPS now offers a total of 11 flights from Hong Kong to Europe each week. This gives companies in the Asia Pacific region easier access and more options to conduct business with Europe and makes it easier for European businesses to pull components or products from Asia.

The new daily direct flights will link Hong Kong with Cologne, Germany, Monday to Thursday using modern B747-400 aircraft. They will operate in addition to the seven flights that UPS already offers each week between Hong Kong and Cologne via Dubai.  Beyond offering an accelerated option for shipping packages, the new direct flights also will change the landscape for air freight shipments.

The new service offers wide coverage across Europe reaching 34 countries with non-dutiable small package and letters service, and 18 countries with dutiable small package service. With the UPS express freight service, shipments can be delivered in one day to 18 countries and 39 cities across Europe, including Paris, Milan, Prague, Frankfurt, Madrid, Barcelona and Copenhagen.

“Hong Kong is a strategically important market for UPS with its proximity to mainland China and its well-established trade connections with the rest of the world,” said Dan Brutto, president of UPS International.

“The new direct flights significantly reduce the transit time between Hong Kong and Europe, providing European businesses that import from Asia a faster and more efficient option,” added Wolfgang Flick, president of UPS Europe.

“Over the last few years, Hong Kong to Europe has become one of the fastest growing trade lanes. UPS’s new flights add significant capacity to support this lane.”-TradeArabia News Service