Added validity for FedEx/DHL rumor?

[Fly Astar Jets]

The answer is...you can't. That's why I'm calling BS on this.

Ohhhh I don't know about that.

 

[abxdx]

Let's get this Thread back on its feet.. Anyone care to comment!

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Shares in Deutsche Post (DPWGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) rose on Monday as traders cited market talk that U.S. package delivery company FedEx Corp (FDX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) was interested in buying a stake in the German mail and logistics group.
"There are rumors that FedEx wants to buy a 14-percent stake in Deutsche Post," one trader said.
Deutsche Post had no immediate comment.
Deutsche Post shares were up 1.5 percent at 20.40 euro by 6:34 a.m. EDT, while Germany's top-30 index .GDAXI was up 0.9 percent.

 

[Fly Astar Jets]

...
"There are rumors that FedEx wants to buy a 14-percent stake in Deutsche Post," one trader said.
....

My bet has always been some tie in with FDX using their substantial feeder air network and ground ops to support the smaller markets. Might be wishful thinking though.

FAJ

 

[time builder]

My bet has always been some tie in with FDX using their substantial feeder air network and ground ops to support the smaller markets. Might be wishful thinking though.

FAJ

My first inclination is to agree with you. DHL feeders, from what I've seen, have too much empty space in them, and fly to far fewer destinations than UPS and FEDEX.

On the other hand, from what I've seen of FEDEX feeders, they just keep loading up one Caravan after another to the same destination. How many Caravans depends on the load. During peak rushes you might see 4 flights, or 2 flights when it's light.

The point is, it's not a matter of empty space with the Caravans, it's a matter of how many you expect to launch, and adding DHL cargo would only require extra flights in most cases.

And heaven forbid on that note, we've already got enough 140 kt. cruisin, airway congesting Caravans in the system. Seems like every night, if I don't cancel IFR coming into the hub, I'll end up with a combination of speed restrictions, delay vectors, and even holding patterns just to provide spacing with these guys.

 

[b707guy]

And heaven forbid on that note, we've already got enough 140 kt. cruisin, airway congesting Caravans in the system.

An interesting observation. I've sat at the end of the runway at PDX awaiting takeoff clearance while a hailstorm (ok, a slight exaggeration...) of mostly FedEx Caravans swooped in to land. Fun to watch, but a bit frustrating at times. So if there is to be some collaboration among DHL and FedEx feeders, would those delays increase with more traffic, or could there be larger aircraft in the feeder's future?

 

[jmreii]

My first inclination is to agree with you. DHL feeders, from what I've seen, have too much empty space in them, and fly to far fewer destinations than UPS and FEDEX.

On the other hand, from what I've seen of FEDEX feeders, they just keep loading up one Caravan after another to the same destination. How many Caravans depends on the load. During peak rushes you might see 4 flights, or 2 flights when it's light.

The point is, it's not a matter of empty space with the Caravans, it's a matter of how many you expect to launch, and adding DHL cargo would only require extra flights in most cases.

And heaven forbid on that note, we've already got enough 140 kt. cruisin, airway congesting Caravans in the system. Seems like every night, if I don't cancel IFR coming into the hub, I'll end up with a combination of speed restrictions, delay vectors, and even holding patterns just to provide spacing with these guys.

we have too many aircraft in the system, period. "suck it up"

 

[time builder]

we have too many aircraft in the system, period. "suck it up"

Yup, I know.

 

[TheDogsBollocks]

And heaven forbid on that note, we've already got enough 140 kt. cruisin, airway congesting Caravans in the system. Seems like every night, if I don't cancel IFR coming into the hub, I'll end up with a combination of speed restrictions, delay vectors, and even holding patterns just to provide spacing with these guys.

Ah, the infernal Caravan-which only climbs due to the fact it consumes fuel in its tanks, a climb rate that is exceeded by the steam off my piss! Seeing them make an early turn out of PDX looking as though they're about to stall. Jeez, I could shoot one of them down with an air rifle!!!:laugh:

 

[Fly Astar Jets]

....a climb rate that is exceeded by the steam off my piss!.... :laugh:

Now THAT'S funny:beer:

FAJ

 

[time builder]

Ah, the infernal Caravan-which only climbs due to the fact it consumes fuel in its tanks, a climb rate that is exceeded by the steam off my piss! Seeing them make an early turn out of PDX looking as though they're about to stall. Jeez, I could shoot one of them down with an air rifle!!!:laugh:

And it's not just their performance that I'm frustrated with. It's the philosophy that you should never cancel IFR in a FedEx feeder. It could be 10 and clear in the entire western US, and they'd still hold on to their IFR all the way down to the visual approach into the hub.

If it's hard VFR, ok, their loss. All the Beeches, Metros, MU2s, 402s etc. will take the short cuts on the VFR transitions and get into the hub quicker.

On the other hand, in my case, my routing is typically mountainous with high MEA's until about 70 miles out, at which point I can easily accept a 4000ish foot ceiling to get in VFR. The problem is that ATC likes to assign holds, vectors and restrictions at about 90 miles out to provide spacing with the "infernal" caravans up ahead holding on to their IFR clearance, even in good VFR conditons.

To give my opinion the other question, yes, I could see some larger planes in the future, in fact I'm a big fan of the EMB 120's and ATR's in the feeder realm.

Seems like one of the biggest problems in the feeder world is aircraft aquisiton, and Beeches and Metros are in short supply. The only newer small feeder on the market is the Caravan (correct me if I'm wrong), I'd much rather see consolidation and larger turboprop aquisition.

Unfortunately, again on the other hand, another trend I see with UPS in particular is that every time they get enough cargo to upgrade to a larger plane (like the ATR or EMB), they just branch out to more destinations flying into smaller airports (often less than 30 miles down the road), and continue flying the smaller planes.