Most DHL customers will be so happy just to GET their packages, they won't care whether it's first-day, second-day, next week, or whatever. If the guy who actually delivers their package can do so without stealing their purse, driving into their swimming pool, or getting into police chases with his delivery van, it will be a real improvement to service.

Dan, I'm sure your have some facts to back up your stories. If you can link on stolen purses, swimming pools and other bits of light reading I'd enjoy it. Thanks.

The flights I've done on the next day side have had few (if any) voids, and most of the cans I've seen are bulked out. I wish I was senior enough to fly the 2nd day stuff more than once in a while and see how the loads are, but I'm instead going thru training to go thru training.

Sure, some of DHL's stuff might go on trucks, but there's no way we'd replace all those a/c (especially the 76's) with trucks and squeezing the rest on our current flights.

Geez, be a little positive (and run the spell check)!

The world will end in 2012.

I know we'll find out next week, but where are you trying to go? Or just ANC avoidance?

MD ANC FO or 8 FE. And I thought the world would end 1 day before I retired from here.... it's ending sooner?

Not to say I'm focusing too much on this, but, for those of you keeping track,

CH-Aviation - Airline News, Fleet Lists & More

has changed N294UP and N295UP from "in storage awaiting to be converted" to that column being blank (ie: delivered?). N296UP is not listed for some reason even though it's coming (formally N803DE source from http://md-eleven.net/Latest-News- dated June 27th). Also, the four Transmile aircraft (S/N 48444, 48446, 48485, 48486) are now listed as "Stored at Kuala Lumpur (SZB)" from that column being originally blank.

Can you say 4 more MDs for peak this year? Bringing total MD fleet total up to 42 aircraft, eventually. With only 194 still flying or stored, that's 21.6% of the remaining world MD11 fleet :-). ( http://md-eleven.net/Production-List )

So here's a question:
If the company was to "announce" 4 more MD deliveries, would they have to run "another" system bid, or just take people's preferences on file. It seems silly to displace a guy off the MD to the 8 only to get 4 more MDs and need to retrain him - again.

Also, if the aircraft is already a cargo bird, what if any avionics/systems standardization would be required to get a newly acquired A/C up and running in the UPS system. They wouldn't need to even give it the full Brown paint job since I have seen white tails with UP registration from time to time.
Just wondering how long it would take to get these airplanes in SDF earning their keep?

Also, what's the difference between a MD-11F and a MD-11F(AH)?

I hope your right about the transmile birds. But to put a damper on things I had a MD-11 Standards guy the other day say we are NOT getting anymore MD's. Mitch Said NO More. And this guy picks em up in SIN.

Hopefully he's wrong.

http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/8841/mvc010s8gw.jpg

http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/8558/mvc007s3no.jpg

http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/6474/mvc003s2dv.jpg

MD-11ER (5 built): the Extended Range version was launched by the manufacturer at the Singapore Air Show in February 1994.[2] The MD-11ER incorporates all the Performance Improvement Program (PIP) options, including a Maximum Take-Off Weight of 630,500 lb (286,000 kg) and an extra fuel tank of 3,000 US gallon (11,400 liters) in the forward cargo hold[13] to offer a range of 7,240 nm (13,410 km), an increase of 400 nm (750 km) over the standard passenger variant. MD-11ERs were delivered between 1995 and 1997 to Garuda Indonesia (3) and World Airways (2). As of February 2007, one MD-11ER has been converted to MD-11 with the removal of the extra fuel tank. This aircraft is in service with Finnair.[11]
MD-11F (53 built): the Freight transport aircraft was the second variant on offer at launch in 1986 and was the last and longest (1988-2000) manufactured version. The all-cargo aircraft features the same forward port side cargo door (140 in x 102 in - 3.56 m x 2.59 m) as the MD-11CF, a main deck volume of 15,530 cubic feet (447 cubic m), a maximum payload of 200,151 lb (90,787 kg) and can transport 26 pallets of the same dimensions (88 in X 125 in (2.23 m x 3.18 m) or 96 in x 125 in (2.44 m x 3.18 m)) as for the MD-11C and MD-11CF. The MD-11F was delivered between 1991 and 2001 to China Eastern Airlines (1); EVA Air (9); FedEx Express (22); Lufthansa Cargo (14); Martinair (2); Saudi Arabian Airlines (4) and World Airways (1).[11]
Note: Some or all the features of the MD-11ER, including the higher MTOW of 630,500 lb (285,990 kg), part or all of the PIPs aerodynamic improvements packages and composite panels were fitted to later built MD-11s (except the extra fuel tank), and could be retrofitted to any of the variants, except for the PIP Phase IIIB larger aft engine intake. Some airlines, such as Finnair, Martinair and FedEx have made the structural changes required to allow their aircraft to have the higher MTOW. Swissair 16 newly delivered aircraft were retrofitted with all the features except for the extra fuel tank and were so-designated MD-11AH for Advanced Heavy.[11]
Wiki

Transmile's position three weeks ago:

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story...4&sec=business