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Pure speculation on my part.

Atlas Air Worlswide is purchased by an investor group led by Apollo along with JF Lehman & Company and Hill Ciity Capital for $5.2B.

Atlas Air Worldwide becomes a privately held company.

John Dietrich former CEO of Atlas Air Worldwide bexomes EVP and CEO of FedEx Corp

FedEx Corp FY24 Q3 cash on-hand $6.3B

FedEx Corp announces Tricolor network plan to expand its air freight offerings to the much larger global air freight market beyond priority parcel shipments. This is to grow and capture more air freight (pallets) and less time sensitive e-commerce parcels.

My take, FedEx Corp will make a move to acquire Atlas Air Worldwide. JD was brought over to FedEx Corp to make this transition. This gives FedEx a hedge against Amazon. They get access to a fleet of 767 freighters which can't be built after 2028. They also get a few 777Fs and the 747s which are no longer produced.


Am I crazy?

How does D.E. Shaw fit in? They don't particularly concern themselves with the long game from what I read. They're more like those JG Wentworth commercials about "cash now". I think if they could get away with using the entire 6.3 for buybacks and running the shares to $400 they'd do that.

Aside from that, it sounds like a good theory.

Interesting thought... but doesn't Amazon have a significant option to increase their ownership of Atlas or was that some ACMI?... I can't remember the details... also very skeptical the government would go for it, especially with current commerce secretary. We shall see.

I don't think buying another airline is part of the DRIVE initiative.

So...Flying Tigers all over again?

Going to be a lot of Atlas alumni at FedEx that'll become junior to themselves, that's for sure.

I really don't see what Atlas has to offer that FedEx couldn't do themselves. Throw those old MD-11s on ACMI contracts or maybe buy some 777-300ERFs. Hire some of the sales people from Atlas and other ACMIs to import experience. There's really no secret sauce here (besdies competing on cost, which FedEx probably can't).

Just what we need, clapped-out converted 767s with hundred of thousands of hours and 30 years of service on them.


nah you’re not crazy. JD can look at an ACMI contract and tell whether the numbers are a good deal for or not so maybe you’re onto something with regards to the orange network and whatnot. Who the hell knows….

That all probably changed once Atlas went private.

sometimes… its best to keep our silly thoughts to ourselves.

I guess I shouldn’t say amalgamation then.

JD is a pro at it. If my worst fears are true, TA 1.0 was the best deal we would have ever had. The court system will be where our next contract comes from…. in 5 years.

Might as well guit now.

Quality response. Maybe I will.

My point is that I don’t think this pilot group realizes yet who JD truly is. I am surprised that the clowns at ALPO didn’t use that against us towards the end of their roadshows while they were trying to scare us in to voting yes on the crappy TA. It would have fit nicely on the slide under the threats of furlough.

Time to wake up boys and girls. This isn’t your daddy’s airline.

It never was. And JD is CFO not CEO, he's not in the same position as he was at Atlas. But yes, every thing is gloom and doom while we go through the same negotiating process that airlines have done for decades. Meanwhile our staunch union pilots cobble up open time because of course flying all they can gives the union the help it needs.

Good point. Nothing to see here. What was I thinking? I must be overly paranoid.

My theory about JD is less ominous...

Someone on the Board needed a fourth on their golf team for the country club championship. JD must have a good game. After JD welches on a few side bets... he'll be gone. I could be wrong 😂

Atlas was not a company that was considered national infrastructure with huge institutional shareholders and a postal contract - nor were they in NMB mediated negotiations.

Apples and oranges.

This....the original starter gets its. Whatever is coming our way, that's the disturbing part to me. Yes, we deserve/need a respectable contract and that of course is going to take a lot of work and attention of our union.

Not being discussed, possibly being missed are the issues going on with the BOD, DE Shaw, Raj, DRIVE/Network 2.0, Dietrich, etc with company and other events on the ALPA National Stage, Age 67/Crew Complement etc.

I've been in this industry coming up on 30 years, and fascinated by it's entire history . As mentioned, there is nothing going on here that hasn't happened at another airline and pilot group.

We are distracted, and from my experience and knowledge, both in life and the profession, the things that you don't see coming are more impactful than those things you see right infront of you.

I didn't know fortune 50 companies chose their C suite like this. It seems their interview process is less stressful than the average 22 year old going to PSA. He is at FX for a reason sir.

Atlas guy here. This is also my experience.

But I'm wondering if you or someone else can elaborate on the DE Shaw piece? I tried a quick Google and I'm not "connecting the dots" on these comments.

Respond here or via PM. Thanks.

Activist investment firm with de facto control over the BOD at the moment. Look them up. They swoop in and make companies "more efficient" thus "unlocking value". Value for whom? Debatable.

There are 14 personnel on the BoD.

DE Shaw influenced two of those appointments and have an agreement which will allow them to name a third at some point.

It is perplexing to me how 3 members of a board of 14, which represent the interests of Shaw's 1% share of the company, could have "de facto control".

FedEx raises dividend, adds directors in agreement with D.E. Shaw

I think it is just as important to recognize that McKinsey and Company are also in Fred's House and seem to be advising Raj and the gang to slash/and/burn to increase the bottom line.

Certainly the combination of Shaw influencing Board decisions and McKinsey consulting on how to increase shareholder benefit, with the addition of Mr JD in the C Suite team, is going to equal some strange times ahead for organized and nonunionized labor at Purple.

my family has worked for major consulting firms and this is a standard practice for most corporations to get an outside perspective and prevent themselves from turning into Sears. It is in all of ours best interest to have a well run financial house. It is misplaced and paranoid to believe that pilot group "sacrifices" will be the major source of increases to company margins. These consulting companies are likely more worried about truck driver unionization after completion of DRIVE, than 5800 pilots who will likely work till 67 and die by 70.

The market will determine our worth... if they don't pay market, they won't have an airline and you will have your vested benefit and fly somewhere else... I don't think that is likely.

I’m not so sure that’s true. Amy Lane still serves on the board here (as well as others) but Jim Vena left this fall to take the helm at Union Pacific. Not sure they ever got a third seat. They won’t be around forever

Every member of the board has ONE VOTE. DE Shaw has 2 votes, and the threat of a third which means Raj does what they want him to do. D.E. Shaw's position on the BOD is probably not unlike Fred's level of influence once was.

These BOD members are involved in countless other large corporations. If you're a CEO elsewhere maybe you keep your head down around DE Shaw lest they come make your business "more efficient" by using every nickel to buy stock back and eliminating capital expenditures.

You can't fight paranoia here, too many angry posters with no reason to live but complain.

Not crazy. As an industry observer, I think the reverse will happen. Raj's "DRIVE" initiative is because he wants FedEx to Drive, as in trucks. He could have called it "FLY" but chose another word- DRIVE.

I think the recent tri-colorization of FedEx Air is some McKinsey or management consultantism push that eventually will result in a "metrics review" of each unit and possible "valuation analysis" for subsequent sale to another investment group so FedEx can focus, on, well, DRIVE