I don't want my snarky comment about DHL going for the lowest bidder to hijack the thread. I concede that they keep giving aircraft to Kalitta, which is a fine carrier.
But I have no idea what Southern charges DHL for an equivalent 777 trip compared to Connie. It's probably not published anywhere, so how do we know? Moreover, there's a difference between giving the business to the better carrier because he's better and giving the business to him because the cheaper carrier couldn't handle any more, which was arguably the situation at Southern for a while.
Regardless, DHL also got under the covers with 21Air, MASAir, Amerijet and now Mesa. And they have pulled a lot of planes from ABX, which is an excellent, experienced express carrier that puts up solid stats. Yet some are suggesting that performance trumps price in DHL's decision-making -- or at least that they will pay more for superior performance -- which I don't think is borne out by the data. I think Reactivity is closer to the mark.
Me, personally, for what my opinion is worth, I think DHL considers air transportation to be a commodity to be purchased like all other commodities, like, say, fuel. As long as the product meets their minimum standards, which they apparently find that 21Air and Mesa are doing, if the price is right, Welcome Aboard!
Last edited by wjcandee; 01-03-2021 at 10:16 PM.