A year with Inspire

At Kuehne+Nagel, we have always prioritised access to capacity. After a challenging pandemic period, it becomes even more important – navigating the difficulties of air logistics with customer-led solutions. As part of our 2026 Roadmap, we have joined forces with Atlas to charter weekly flights on our new Boeing 747-8F “Inspire” and “Empower”.

Boeing 747-8F “Inspire” and “Empower”

• New flight plan launched from October 2023
• Three worldwide rotations per week
• Connecting the US, Europe and Asia
• Two weekly rotations connecting Europe and Asia, and the US and Asia
  • Wednesdays and Fridays ORD > ICN > HAN > HKG > ORD
• One weekend rotation of returning flights between the US and Europe
  • Sundays ORD > STR > BHM > ORD
• 30,000 tonnes shipped

Inspire and Empower: the last aircraft of their kind

Having learned key lessons from the pandemic, Kuehne+Nagel began negotiations with operator Atlas Air in early 2022. Our goal was to improve access to capacity following a range of supply chain challenges.

Global Head of Network & Carrier Management for Air Freight Holger Ketz says: “During the pandemic, access became strict and limited, so air logistics took centre stage. The situation accelerated our need to access capacity, but it was always our long-term plan to operate aircraft.”

As a result, we set about creating new rotations with our own aircraft, supplied by operator Atlas Air. In November 2022, Atlas offered Kuehne+Nagel a lease agreement for two of the last Boeing 747-8Fs in production: “Inspire” and “Empower”. With their low fuel consumption and innovative nose-loading capabilities, they offer sustainable, high-capacity air logistics.

Ketz, who has been part of the Kuehne+Nagel team for 23 years, highlights the benefits of these new rotations. He says: “When we signed contracts with Atlas, we knew we had to strike a balance between commercial capacity and our own capacity. That’s why we have formed long-term agreements, to serve customers and mitigate risk.”

Serving multiple markets and new destinations

With the new partnership, Kuehne+Nagel will now operate weekly rotations across three continents. From October 2023, we look forward to connecting the United States with Europe and Asia as part of three new air freight rotations. These will offer unique loading opportunities to global markets.

Previously, Kuehne+Nagel’s flight paths connected the United States and Asia. With these new plans, our weekend transatlantic flights will include a European stop in Stuttgart.

Ketz says: “These new routes are not simply point to point, but round trips based on our customers’ needs. With Inspire and Empower, we took the network planning into our own hands. We reached out to our customers and asked them for their requirements. This facilitated global flight plans.”

The announcement of the new plans has had positive feedback from customers such as ASML, Daimler and Google. Ketz notes the location of the airports, including Birmingham, Alabama and Stuttgart, Germany. “These are tailor-made flight plans. By flying from secondary airports, we’re transporting goods much closer to our customers’ production sites.”

Both aircraft are ideal for a range of industries, as evidenced in Kuehne+Nagel’s existing clients. They offer capacity for overlength and oversized cargo, together with temperature-controlled compartments. This makes them ideal for automotive parts, aerospace, healthcare, perishables and semiconductors.

Improving competitive advantage with customer-centric service

The names “Inspire” and “Empower” are a testament to Kuehne+Nagel’s wider mission: to go above and beyond for our customers, colleagues and communities. This will create more profitable, sustainable routes thanks to:

• Higher capacity
• Reduced damage risk
• More reliable rotations
• Flexible cargo types
• Shorter handovers and faster cargo availability

Inspire and Empower have opened up global opportunities to expand across new regions. These form just 3% of Kuehne+Nagel’s wider portfolio, helping us to mitigate risk with a balance of commercial and owned capacity.

Our roadmap for the future

These new flight paths are inspired by our Roadmap 2026 and Vision 2030 strategies. In particular, Inspire and Empower will adhere to the four principles set out in our roadmap:

The Kuehne+Nagel Experience

This partnership has allowed us to create more personalised routes, increasing our regional coverage and verticals served. It will offer Kuehne+Nagel significant competitive advantage as we set out to become the world’s most trusted supply chain partners.

Digital Ecosystem

Improving access to capacity has always set us apart, and these new flight plans will be underpinned by our digital ecosystem. By logging data and listening to our customers’ specific requirements, we maximise capacity. The nose-loading capabilities of Inspire and Empower can transport large volumes of irregular freight.

Living ESG

Our Living ESG goals are already seeing us help customers make their supply chain more sustainable. The new rotations will further support our environmental goals, delivering freight closer to production sites and optimising global flight routes.

Market Potential

With strategically planned flights covering destinations in the United States, Asia and Europe, we are expanding our reach across key sectors and markets. This will position us as a key player for the transport of valuable goods such as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.

What’s next for Kuehne+Nagel?

With these new aircraft, we propel our mission to be the world’s most trusted supply chain partner. Having already transported 30,000 tonnes for clients such as Google, the scaling potential knows no bounds.

We look forward to expanding our network even further, focusing on long-term relationships with tailor-made routes. As part of our Roadmap 2026, this will better prepare us for future disruption, giving us crucial network planning power.

Sustainability, expansion and innovation come first thanks to our track record of strong customer relationships. We look forward to seeing how this partnership with Atlas Air will grow, offering a future-proof solution for global logistics.

Kuehne+Nagel will update flight paths based on customer requirements and new destinations.

 Read more about the Roadmap 2026 here.

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Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boeing_747_Kuehne%2BNagel.jpg