Dhl Buy's 49% Of Astar

[shooter]

I think you missed the most important part of the latest deal. DHL extended the current ACMI with Astar for 12 years. As I have many friends at ABX, I believe Hete has decided to take the ABX Air business elseware. It is no secret that ABX is unhappy with their current ACMI agreement and that Hete has tried to improve it with no success. I believe Hete will try to rebuild the ABX legacy somewhere else. ABX Air will deposit assets into the holding company, and those assets will be purchased by Astar. The ABX Air Certificate will service other customers other than DHL, ie ANA. I wish no ABX pilot ill will but Astar currently hauls 50% plus of the frieght each night. They publish these numbers everyday on the morning lift sheet. ABX has 3 years left on its current ACMI which is the correct amount of time to replace the Cabin door 767's with cargo door aircraft for Astar. Stage 4 in Europe is quickly approching and DHL will need somewhere to send their fleet of 44 757's that currently do not meet stage 4. Everything being said as One ABX pilot told me " A new beginning somewhere else may be good for us in the long run". Astar has always been DHL from it's call sign to it's previous name. The only thing thats changed is Astar is now back as DHL.

I don't know, don't you think they will just mod. to stage 4? While it would be a nice fit for the US market, they have a need for them in the EU. Which brings up another head scratcher for me. I had read that Polar was looking at getting a 767 type on their cert. to diversify their fleet from just 747's. Does Astar have something like this being looked at? I ask because I still wonder who will get the new 767-300ER's DHL ordered. Not to bash Astar, but your fleet are dino's and something really needs to be done about that. It may be that you (Astar) buys ABX, but who knows how this will all play out. I just know I'm done when it's done. No more aviation after ABX for me, baby.

 

[erwaz]

ASTAR has alwas been DHL. Its just a shell game DHL plays very well. DHL is also a private company. DHL likes private companys not public. I personaly feel that there is nothing in the ABX fleet that is worth two nickels except for the 10 767 with cargo doors for DHL. Having said that, I do hope that ABX will be apart of the whole DHL Plan. I have friends at ABX and I do not want to see them on the street. I would much rather work with them as one company called DHL.

 

[shooter]

ASTAR has alwas been DHL. Its just a shell game DHL plays very well. DHL is also a private company. DHL likes private companys not public. I personaly feel that there is nothing in the ABX fleet that is worth two nickels except for the 10 767 with cargo doors for DHL. Having said that, I do hope that ABX will be apart of the whole DHL Plan. I have friends at ABX and I do not want to see them on the street. I would much rather work with them as one company called DHL.

wow, you should really get to know your company structure. DHL is NOT a private company. Its owned by a very publicly traded company Deutsche Post World Net. The only difference is now the investors of Deutsche Post now have to wonder where their money goes when it flows into Astar. To be transparent with the cash (you know to show the investors you are not stealing their money by not having to report to the public) Astar will have to become public. You know how you do that? Buy or be bought by ABX or take your company public. Which do you think is more likely to happen?

 

[erwaz]

DHL is not a public company. Yes DP is public but DHL is seperate and private. Astar will not become public unless JD deceids to sell. And yes the sale of Astar to Abx is one posibility although a long shot at best. What ever happens I do hope we all come out on top because we all want our jobs at the end of the day. Lets not get mad at each other. We are just all along for the ride brother.

 

[shooter]

DHL is not a public company. Yes DP is public but DHL is seperate and private. Astar will not become public unless JD deceids to sell. And yes the sale of Astar to Abx is one posibility although a long shot at best. What ever happens I do hope we all come out on top because we all want our jobs at the end of the day. Lets not get mad at each other. We are just all along for the ride brother.

agreed, I hope we all come out on top. I am not mad and hope I do not come across as mad. But DHL is a publicly traded company through DPWN. All its financial statments and operating expenses are reported through them. Polar is a publicly traded company and soon, Astar will be too. They have to be public or the investors would fume about non-disclosure of the finances.

 

[erwaz]

I am just a bumb pilot so you may be right!

 

[shooter]

I am just a bumb pilot so you may be right!

you don't have to take my word for it. here is the publications link from DPWN to view the annual report/Q1/outlook etc.

http://investors.dpwn.de/en/investoren/publikationen/index.html

 

[shooter]

F.Y.I.

I know Daz is being all hush hush about the cost of the 49%, but it will come out in the 2nd quarter report or the annual at the latest. As they reported the Polar purchase.

 

[AV8OR]

Well, my question, rhetorical as it may have been, had more to do with a common sense explanation for not choosing a carrier with better capabilities and performance. The fact that it doesn't make sense is what has me worried.
But, okay, lets bat this CAT II/III & C Container thing around. CAT II/III capabilities are absolutely essential in the Overnight Express Industry. You know, "when it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight....." And, of course, there are going to be the odd nights when even CAT II/III aircraft aren't going to get in to some markets. But neither will UPS or FedEx. And since DHL professes to be in the American Overnight Express business, they are going to have to compete. Overnight customers are fickle. You don't make it in one day and UPS does....you lose the customer to UPS, even if it costs more.
As for the C Container. Okay, they're small. So is most of the product shipped Overnight Express. Just because ABX is the only one doing it doesn't make it wrong for the business. There's a reason for why ABX has used them successfully for over 25 years; the customers love them. The legacy customers like Dell, IBM, Apple and others love them because they can load them themselves, push them off the loading dock at the last minute and still make the flight. For years IBM has threatened to go to someone else if we took C containers out of their distribution cities.

OK, now I understand where you're coming from. At first I didn't think you answered my question, "which would be more expensive", but toward the end I realized in a round about way what you are saying that since the CATII DC-9 C container system is fundamentally superior to the A container sysytem that DHL seems to be favoring in the long run, it is crazy for them to invest in AStar. I got it. Thanks for the reply.

 

[fodc8]

The entire World is A container. The only airline using C containers is ABX Air. I know you guys have been with this system for so long it's hard to come to the realization that this system is on the way out. DHL strategic plans include an all A container fleet. New cities being served by Astar are being completely converted to process A containers only. Ultimately the C container issue will make or break any deal ABX gets, not Cat 2. When your 767's begin getting cargo doors I will be the first to say your back in the game. Rumor of you getting them and actual 767's with doors showing up are two different things. Didn't Hete take 3 of ABX Air's 767F to Japan? I wonder how DHL took that?