Erichardonman
Let me break it down for you nice and easy:
The idea to move all in one weekend just before the holiday rush was not ABX's. They recommended against it, but did their best to make it work when ordered to proceed.
BTW, the hub worked fine for Airborne. I wonder what changed? Oh, DHL came to town with Astar.
First of all, we're very much aware that the ILN start-up was cluster fcuked to the nth degree, and all parties made monumental mistakes. One major hurdle was (and still is) lack of qualified manpower. This was, and is, an ABX problem. There were many other failures which you can lay at the door of DHL, mainly an over-ambitious schdule.
But you cannot compare the old ABX products to those offered by DHL, and stating that it worked in the olden days is not a valid argument. The world went and changed on ABX, but ABX kept sticking to their old methods which became, and still are, obsolete.
Got a newsflash for you bud. ABX is a fully independant airline. The ACMI and US law make it so. The ACMI is a contract, binding on both parties, as is the Hub Service agreement. ABX will do it as DHL asks, but when DHL was about to step on a turd ABX tried to let them know. Oh well, I guess the old saying "No good deed goes unpunished." is true after all.
I cannot remember ABX doing any good dead in the relationship with DHL, but that's not the point. Yes, by law ABX is supposed to have its indendence. Just like ASTAR. But I've go a newsflash for you, what do you think would happen if DHL told ABX to bugger off? ABX is not supposed to run anything, they're supposed to jump when asked to do so - and that's it - we should not be allowing the tail to wag the dog.
Yep, they provided the maximum help they could in aiding the loss of all those billions of dollars
Well, ASTAR has a lower cost base than ABX as the bills are settled differently. ABX asked for, and got, a very sweet deal - one that could be abused by corrupt management. Suffice to say that ABX management took greater care in maximizing their bonuses than looking out for the general well-being of their customer (without whom, we have already established, they'd be confined to the history books).
If this actually occurs I hope you have a plan for finding a new job. You'll need it. Fedex and UPS will eat DHL alive in a matter of years
Here's a newsflash for you: There is a world outside the United States. I know, I know, it's hard to belive. Furthermore, DHL generates less than 15% of revenue from the US operation, more than half of which is import TO the US. You might also like to known that on a world-wide basis DHL commands roughly 50% of the world market. Last but not least, the yields in the US market are amongst the lowest in the world. Ipso facto, moving out of the US domestic will not spell the end of DHL. Sorry to burst your bubble.