Hey checknin,
I'll take a shot and elaborate on what Dust-Bin-Driver was talking about.
In the last 2.5 months, DHL has bought back the 49% stake of our airline they originally held and added Hans Hickler (sp?) as a fourth member to our BOD. Hickler was appointed in '04 or '05 to oversee DHL's development and implementation of U.S. business strategy, in addition to overseeing the company's real estate, procurement, and internal consulting functions. In Sept '06, Hickler succeeded John Mullen as Chief Executive Officer for DHL Express in the United States. Mullen now sits over DHL globally and Hans reports to him.
As for the financing, Astar extended and revised it's credit arrangement with HSH Nordbank AG, New York Branch. The revised credit agreement extends the term to 2019, subject to certain conditions. The scope of the revolving credit facility will now be expanded to permit ASTAR to finance capital expenditures including the acquisition of aircraft, cargo conversions, designated real property, and ground equipment. We also have a history with Boeing Capital through which the financing was provided to purchase and put Astar together. It is our belief that debt had been totally paid off, and up until last year or so Astar had been operating totally in the black with zero debt. At this point, Astar began purchasing aircraft that it had been operating in the service of DHL from their respective leasing companies. To date the number is 20 B727-200's and 2 DC-8-73's. As for the DC-8's, I believe we already own 801-805 and maybe two others, but I'm not completely certain.
As for growth, Daz & Co. tried the quick and dirty method with a very sudden and very public offering for ABXA which was turned down by ABXA BOD. There is much debate as to why it happened that way. So much that it deserves it's own thread
My personal opinion with regards to growth is that we will either make another play for ABXA after the XMAS push, (which will prove to be as fruitless as the last try) or KittyHawk. Not so much for their B727, but for the B737 type on their certificate which I see as the logical replacement for the DC-9's.
As for our Schedules, our bid periods are 28 days, 13 bid periods in a year. We fly a typical 7 on 7 off, with our reserve lines being 8 on 6 off. If you're gonna fly the back side of the clock, these are the schedule matrix's you want. The added bennie of the 7&7 line allows you to maximize your vacation blocks so as to have 4 week off stretches with no trouble at all three times a year until your 10'th year, then you can do it 4 times a year.
Hope this helps, FAJ