Originally Posted by
Av8er1550
If you were a young guy, had no PIC "turbine" but lets say for instance you could have a shot at ABX or even ATI...Would anyone do it again? Is it somewhere where a young pilot should invest his or her time at for awhile? Just trying to shake it up and see what people have to say about all of this Amazon movement (and maybe trying to get a little advice for myself).
The reason I say PIC with no turbine is because that's where I stand. I could go to a regional or even a corporate outfit and upgrade a lot quicker than ABX. But, at ABX if this Amazon stuff takes off, I would stay there as long as I could. Upgrades wouldn't matter to me at that point (granted this Amazon stuff takes off and goes well beyond the 5 yr contract).
You have to look at the facts. ABX is an ACMI carrier. DHL or Amazon can change, cancel or move any of these contracts with just 90 days notice. Currently the management at ABX is one of the worst in the industry with Labor-Management relations. The union has much less bargaining power now that ABX is just an ACMI carrier. ATSG the parent company owns both ATI and ABX. The management is notorious for moving airplanes in a shell game from carrier to carrier as they deem necessary. This is often done to keep airframes at ATI which has a much lower cost structure. The DHL contracts still have a few years left in them but could be easily moved to Atlas, Kalitta or any other company who wants to bid on the work. The Amazon contract could also be diversified with other carriers in order to spread risk. Amazon also is a company which is highly sophisticated technologically and one can imagine their future use of drones, single pilot, and other labor saving enhancements. In other words thing might be good for now but an ACMI carrier is one contract away from unemployment. This is NOT your grandfather's ABX.