mukalel

Just saw that ABX the premier B767 worldwide ACMI operator just dropped their minimums to 1500 hours in an effort to attract flight instructors to join their ever shrinking fleet of 767s ... Ohh did i also mention the loss of lines again for next month that puts a lot of people back on reserve?? Its just amazing how this is the only airlines in the cargo business not growing at this time.. And yet according to soapy, we are adequately staffed with loads of resumes on file.. just amazing all the lies they tell you around here..

Now we can start to see all the talent that shows up here.. people over 60 with multiple dui's and messed up records and offcourse the freshly minted ATP instructors:. Next thing you know ABX will offer restricted ATP and a multi engine rating in their 767 sim using their 142 certificate.. kudos ABX...

suddenimpact

Sounds like a description of the Atlas ExCo and what Atlas management is doing.

mukalel

Maby they have deviced this plan together.. lol

tiredofjrm

Heard they interviewed a guy last month who couldn’t speak English. I’m not sure how he got an ATP?? He had less than 2000 hours, and already 4 failed checkrides.

They are already scraping the bottom of the barrel.

2lowflaps

Folks this might just be the end for ABX. When an airline won’t even continue negotiations, update the equipment on its fleet, flys around with a bunch of DIs, lowers their hiring minimums in this environment, shrinks the fleet, constantly violates the CBA, can’t even fill a class of 6. Brings in a President that brags about laying off 4000 people and shuting down an airline. Looks to me like they are just squeezing every nickel out of the place before they shut it down.

Kougarok

Words of wisdom. I have my exit plans...

johnny150

MGT has spoke of downgrading Captains... this place is shrinking....

Otterbox

They’re being punished for the strike and embarrassing ATSG management with Bezos.

suddenimpact

ACMI and the commuters both have this problem. You become too much trouble, they shift the planes and flying to one of the other carriers in the group. Something to keep in the back of your mind unless you have a rock solid scope clause.

wjcandee

Well, I don't see ATSG shutting down ABX as long as it continues to want the DHL business and DHL still wants to use ABX. Remember that, as between the two ATSG carriers, the DHL 767 flying (or at least most of it) would appear to be locked in at ABX, so there's no potential whipsaw with ATI. This is in part due to the scope language concerning transfer by ATSG of ABX aircraft to directly-competing carriers.

However, DHL seems to have some kind of antipathy for ABX, because it has consistently-reduced the number of frames that ABX flies, while farming the work out to other carriers, notably Atlas and Kalitta. DHL has called upon ABX to fly aircraft (and ATSG to lease it aircraft) when it has needed the lift, but the general trajectory has been downhill.

ABX has some work rules that make certain flights less-expensive to operate with Atlas and Kalitta. So new business might be inclined to go to other carriers, to the extent that the other carriers can staff it. Some of the forwarders, etc., who hire the lift on the low-margin South American and Caribbean stuff seem to be using some of the smaller carriers, like the revitalized Amerijet and the new NAC operation in MIA. I understand that that business was generally sneered-at, and susceptible to competition from the little guys insofar as it is somewhat less time-definite, but it did generate some flight hours.

I personally don't anticipate that Amazon is going to be expanding its fleet beyond 40 aircraft anytime soon, so even if it was inclined to give ABX any more work, it's hard to see that happening within the next year or so. It's also not clear what size of aircraft Amazon is going to be looking at to serve whatever new nodes it adds to its network, given that Amazon will have picked off the low-hanging fruit by the time it reaches 40 aircraft. 767s may be larger than needed for a good number of potential new routes.

The six 767-200 dry leases were only for 5 years, so whether they will be extended and if so for how long is another open question. ATSG can't move those frames directly to a competing carrier, but there's nothing to prevent Amazon from chucking them and replacing them with 767-300s to be converted three or so years from now, when the supply of used -300ERs in the right price range will be on the rise (absent some decision by FedEx or UPS to enter the converted-767 market in a big way). And those frames could be flown by anyone.

I do think that the idea of a Target or WalMart or similar big logistics player using a private air fleet to serve a limited number of lanes is realistic, even advisable, and ATSG is at least competitive in its proven ability to help set up such a system. But I don't see that as yielding an opportunity for more than a limited number of frames. Nevertheless, it is one of a number of opportunities that might be available to ABX in a rising domestic economy, which I hope will continue.