It acquired the first two of the 39-tonne capacity aircraft with a US$60 million contract with Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services (AWAS). The deal was signed during the recent Dubai air show.
The two B757Fs are scheduled for delivery in January and March next year, when they will enter into service on DHL's Europe and Africa network, the courier said.
It has been operating a single AWAS B757F under wet lease since April 1996 on its daily services from Dubai to Bahrain and Brussels.
Under the purchase agreement signed in Dubai, this freighter will be bought by DHL and transferred to its European network. It will, in turn, be replaced by a second B757 on wet lease from Ansett.
DHL executives said the success of the modified Boeing on the Middle East-Europe sector was a major success in its selection of the planes for its European fleet.
"The proven reliability during the last three years of operation has surpassed even the most optimistic projections on operation performance," DHL's Middle East operations director, Geoff Kehr, said. "DHL customers in the Middle East and Europe have a unique service advantage as a direct result of this flight."
DHL is the only air express carrier operating dedicated daily freighter services between the Gulf and Europe. It provides shippers with next-day deliveries to the whole of Western Europe and next-day services to key destinations in the US.
During the Dubai air show, DHL also announced the introduction of two 6.6 tonne-capacity Convair 580 turbo-prop freighters, built by General Dynamics, on its service linking Dubai with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
This tripling of capacity on Dubai overnight delivery flights also marks the introduction of the region's first fully containerised air express aircraft.
"The introduction of these aircraft to the Dubai route not only greatly increases uplift capacity, but also provides the benefits of containerised loading and faster flight times," Kehr said.
"The introduction of the Convair 580 provides for superior materials handling and faster turnaround times.
"All competitor intra-Gulf flights are loose-loaded."