I can’t let an opportunity go by without talking about safety.  We’ve had some ninety degree days here in Wilmington and all over the country.  Make sure you take care of yourselves in terms of protection from the heat, including drinking plenty of fluids.  Also, there are many distractions out there right now.  Please be sure to remain focused at the task at hand when you are working.  Distractions can lead to injuries, which we all want to avoid.  Finally, watch out for each other.  If you see someone that needs help, make sure they get it.  Sometimes we do not realize we are in need of assistance or that we are doing something not as safely as we can be.  Don’t be shy, get involved and you may just save an accident or injury from happening. 

If severe weather is a factor at your location, please be sure that you know where to go and what to do in the event of a thunderstorm or tornado. If you aren’t sure, ask. 

In Wilmington , a new cell phone policy was issued recently that prohibits cell phone use while driving on the ramp. Please observe this new rule; it’s for your safety. For those of you who do drive vehicles on the base, please watch your speed as well.

On the operations front, in the days since May 28, the ABX team has maintained an average on time service rating of 99.08 percent. That is based on ABX controllable issues. This performance is simply exceptional. On behalf of your Executive leadership team, Thank you – keep up the great work.

On the people side of the business, I am pleased to congratulate 767 Captain Stanley Kothman on recently celebrating 35 years with the company.  I also want to congratulate Senior Aircraft Welder Ralph Widman on his 30th anniversary this week.

Terri Owen and Carson Lotton of Chehalis Washington were recognized recently for their efforts in improving a process for our USPS customer. Thank you both for your efforts.

I have some updates from Joe Hete and John Graber on the current ABX situation as discussed at this weeks Managers Meeting.

Joe continues meeting regularly with the Community Task Force.  This group has elevated our situation to gain national attention which was also reported in the Wilmington paper today.  Saturday, July 26, Lt. Governor Lee Fisher will be in town for a meeting at Kelly Center at Wilmington College . All are welcome to attend between 1-2:30 p.m.

Although many rumors are circulating, we do not have any new information from DHL regarding the status of their negotiations with UPS. We did learn recently that DHL has a stand still agreement with UPS while they are in negotiations. This precludes them from discussing other proposals while the talks with UPS are active.  This may explain why we have had difficulty establishing a dialog with them.

We are working hard to complete the Severance, Retention and Productivity program details which include improvements regarding eligibility and severance caps. When this is complete, our next step will be to communicate the finalized program and then call for volunteers prior to the first staffing reduction. We will give those who would consider voluntary reduction some time to ask questions and decide before the first layoff notifications.

In August, the On-site Transition Center will open at Building 2 with extended hours to reach all shifts. The purpose of the center is first to support the employees whose positions are eliminated, though the services will be available to all ABX Air employees. Examples of services employees will have available to them include word processing support, resume classes, administrative support, digital and printed copies of resumes, GED classes, career/skill assessments, and a variety of other resources based on needs identified in the survey located at www.MyABX.com/OwnYourFuture.

Services that ABX and the state will provide are based upon needs reported in the survey. If you have not yet completed the survey, please do so soon. If you do not have internet access you may visit the Recruiting Center to take the survey.

Outbase employees who are affected by station closures or whose positions are eliminated will have transition services available to them on a smaller scale, but they will be available. We are working to provide as much notice to our outbased employees wherever possible though the notice is likely to be two weeks in most cases. This is driven by when we are notified of the change.

For our folks at the Outbased Regional Hubs, we don’t yet have the schedule for hub transfers to DHL, however we anticipate that most employees at the hubs will be eligible to transfer to DHL. That said, in the past those employees who aren’t offered positions to transfer to DHL have received severance.

More details on all of this information will be coming your way in the next few weeks.

On the fun side of things, the ABX Air golf outing was held last weekend.  It was a great event that everyone enjoyed despite the hot weather.  An upcoming event, the Family Fun Day is set for August 23rd, which is right around the corner.  Make sure you mark your calendar and visit the web site for more detailed information. 

In closing, on behalf of the entire ABX air leadership team, I’d like to thank you for what you are doing everyday.  Each of you continues to provide excellent service which is critical to the long term success of ABX.  Our current and future customers will measure us based on our ability to deliver what we promise in any situation.  We are demonstrating to the world that we can, and will continue to, deliver exceptional service even in trying situations.

Thank you again.  Take care of each other and as always, be safe.

John Graber’s Infoline - July 17, 2008

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air Infoline for July 17th, 2008. I hope this finds everyone doing well.

Safety
Let me start this week with a great Safety story. Our aircraft maintenance and engineering professionals are turning in a great performance in 2008. For the first six months of the year, Maintenance and Engineering cut their OSHA recordable accidents 49% - almost in half. And their lost time events are down over a third – 36%.

Those are great results, and I very much appreciate the attention to detail and hard work it took to achieve them. If you’re an M&E professional, thank you for your effort. You’re succeeding at the most important thing we do. If you work in another area, and you want an example of how to work more Safely, now you know where to look.

Performance
We’ve done a great job of performing for DHL since their announcement on May 28th, and I thank you for it. Many of you have told me that it is getting really frustrating, working so hard without knowing what the future holds. That is an absolutely fair way to feel, and I would not try to tell you something different. These are really hard times for us, that is just all there is to it.

But here’s the thing. Now more than ever, we need DHL to succeed in its business plan. Because now more than ever, making DHL successful is the only thing we can do to preserve the jobs of our People. Don’t stop.

Several of you have told me about rumors that someone is planning to strike back at DHL. Don’t. We have a contractual obligation to serve DHL to a very high standard. If we don’t, we damage their business and threaten our own – and that just puts thousands of our People out of work months sooner. You cheat your friends out of thousands in pay and benefits. Don’t do it.

Just stop and think about what working here means to you, your family, and your friends here. When you think about that, it won’t make sense to do anything else but keep up the good work we’re doing every day.

DHL Update
DHL has not yet reached a contract with UPS, but the two companies are still talking.

Yesterday, July 16th, I had a long conversation with DHL’s US CEO, Ken Allen. We are making progress on severance and retention plans. I don’t have anything more than that to report today – but it is clear to me that we are moving forward. Everything we said in the hangar meetings is still correct and we’re working towards a formal announcement of benefits by the end of the month. We are very close to being able to provide our mechanics with the same severance package we will offer other Employees.

I hear from many of you that we’re taking too long to get you details about severance and retention. You tell me we’re creating real stress in your lives. I very much regret that. The process is taking a long time. But I will tell you that this is the most urgent task ABX Air is working today, and I feel DHL shares our sense of urgency.

Yesterday I also met with Governor Ted Strickland and Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher. I could tell from the questions they asked me that both officials are up to date and fully engaged – they know all the important details of our situation. Governor Strickland told me he will push both DHL and UPS as hard as he can to make sure the companies understand the implications of any agreement that takes jobs away from Wilmington. Both the Governor and Lieutenant Governor are working closely with our congressional delegation in Washington.

Earlier this week Ohio’s entire Washington delegation sent a letter to U.S. Assistant Attorney General Thomas Barnett and the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, William Kovacic. In their letter, Ohio’s Congressmen and Senators asked the Attorney General’s office and the FTC to examine the proposed DHL/UPS transaction for possible violations of federal antitrust laws. They expressed the concern that a deal would make consumers "…suffer in terms of the cost and the quality of the service provided."

The elected officials asked for quick action.

And also this week, Senator Brown led a group of people to DHL’s Wilmington Headquarters to present DHL petitions with thousands of signatures.

And finally, thanks for putting up your yard signs. They’re getting a lot of comments, and they look good. The effort is making our position visible, and that is important.

Job Eliminations and Layoffs
As I’ve told you, it is clear now that whatever DHL decides to do, we will be a smaller organization going forward. Our senior leaders in Flight Operations, Maintenance & Engineering and our support organizations have been working on what job reductions will be required when we start parking DC-9s, and when we will have to make those reductions. We will have to reduce personnel several times over the next year as DHL parks airplanes and reduces service. We won’t be able to do this all at once.

We expect to announce the initial round of reductions the last week of July. The bulk of the People impacted will be in Wilmington. Before we force anyone to leave the company, we will be asking for volunteers, and we will be giving notice.

Rumors
I’ve heard the rumor that we’ve already started layoffs in Wilmington. We have not. We have eliminated positions in San Jose, California, when we closed that station.

Another rumor is that we won’t have a severance or retention program. That is not true, but I’m sure that rumor is being fed by the length of time we’re taking to get out the final details of those plans.

That is all the news I have for this week. We’ll update the Infoline again next Thursday.

Thank you all for all you are doing for our Company. Drop me a note with any questions or comments you have. My email address is john.graber@abxair.com.

John Starkovich’s Infoline - July 10, 2008

Hello ladies and gentlemen. This is John Starkovich, your VP of Human Resources with the ABX Air INFOline for July 10, 2008. I hope this finds everyone doing well. Since this is my first doing the INFOline, your patience in any mistakes or miscues that I may have during the course of this recording is much appreciated.

Alot has happened in past few weeks.

-As you all know by now, there was an aircraft fire on one of our 767s in San Francisco. We are grateful that no one was injured. The aircraft has been released to ABX. The location of the fire was between the cargo hold and the cockpit and was detected by the flight crew as they were preparing to start the engines. The on-scene phase of the investigation has been completed. It will be some time before the NTSB has their final report. Preliminary examinations have not revealed any indication of an explosive or incendiary device. There also has been no evidence of criminal activities. Our thanks to the flight crew; VP Maintenance Terry Scherz and his team including Joe Fries and everyone involved to date in handling this unfortunate event. You can also go to the NTSB website at www.ntsb.gov/pressrel/2008 to read its official release.

-There was also a small electrical Fire in the Fitness Center at Wilmington. Again no one was injured, and the center has reopened. Until repairs are completed, the men will need to use the the 1004 locker room and showers.

-Many Airpark employees turned over signatures to DHL & our elected officials and Employees met with Congressman Turner to discuss the current situation.

-The local Task Force continues to meet and we are hopeful that they are making headway in drawing attention to DHL officials.

-And of course your ABX and ATSG leaders are still working hard and fast to try to change DHL's mind regarding the plan to shift business to UPS. We also continue our efforts with DHL to finalize the Severance and Retention packages.

-Over 1,000 of you have picked up yard signs, and we are beginning to see them all over the county. Many more signs are available at the Company Store (Building 2065) Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Friday 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.; or at ABX University (Building 2) between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 to 5 on Friday. The signs also will be available outside the gates at various times. My understanding is that they will be outside the 1005 guard bldg. at 10:30pm tonight and at the Employee Welcome Center on Friday morning from 4 am to 6am. Questions regarding the yard signs may be sent to communications@abxair.com.

-The on-line transition center was launched at MyABX.com/OwnYourFuture. It has many useful links and a very important job skills survey that everyone should complete. Please take the time and make the effort to fill out the survey so that we can better plan for those services that you think are important. The onsite center will be open by the end of this month, we will have more details soon on this.

So - what can we expect next?

Unfortunately, the time draws near for us to have our first workforce reductions prompted by the aircraft reductions.

Let's talk about WARN notices, you may have heard us refer to this term in employee meetings. But not everyone understands the term which is an acronym for the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. Basically it calls for notification to employees and certain government entities when there are mass lay-offs. We are getting ready and it is our intention to issue the notices directly from an employees manager/supervisor to each individual. As we announced in the Hangar Talks we anticipate having WARN notices for the Wilmington location in July with last days for those affected being 60 days from issue. We are working diligently to get this information finalized and issued.

To date we have had several outbased line maintenance station closures and those will continue. San Jose Ramp & Line Maintenance have received their workforce reduction notices. As we mentioned, for our outbased employees, we are trying to offer two weeks advanced notice.

We intend to handle this transition as delicately as possible, we are mindful of the sensitivity of the looming reductions and the resulting anxiety of all employees. Please be mindful of your co-workers, these are stressful times, and we must take care of each other.

QUESTIONS

I'd like to highlight a few of the questions we are getting.

What retraining and job placement assistance will be provided if my position is eliminated?

ABX Air intends to help those employees whose positions are eliminated. Resume and interview preparation, job search help, occupational training, and financial counseling are among the types of services being considered. We are working closely with state agencies to make the services available quickly and conveniently.

What will happen to my tuition reimbursement if my position is eliminated in the middle of a school term?

At the successful conclusion of the class, ABX Air will reimburse tuition for pre-approved course(s) in process at the time an employee is released.

Will the Family Fun Day and other EAFB events still take place?

Yes, EAFB-sponsored events, including the Family Fun Day set for August 23, will continue as planned.

RUMORS

First - One rumor circulating around is that the reason that DHL is leaving is due to the faulty construction in the new F Building. We cannot speak for DHL. We can say that the construction quality of Building F has not been raised to us here at ABX as a reason for DHL's decision and I have not read anywhere that it was one of the reasons.

Another rumor circulating involves the U.S. Postal Service coming to ILN. As you know ABX currently operates three Surface Transportation Centers (STCs) for USPS in Memphis, Indianapolis and Dallas. Two more are up for bid in Omaha and in Tennessee that ABX is considering bidding on. There also is a "Nationwide Time-Definite Surface Network" that the USPS is considering bidding out that ABX is evaluating. None of these operations include any air service. We will keep you posted.

Switching modes to some reminders to help keep us all safe and compliant ...

Safety remains a top priority and we cannot emphasize it too much. So don’t set it aside especially now. If you see something that isn’t safe, point it out or do something about it.

The free, 24 / 7 employee assistance program is available by calling 800-888-2998 . They help with coaching you through stressful times like these, but they also offer many other services such as financial counseling. You can find out more about the EAP program at www/myabx.com/benefits.

Also, if you suspect illegal activity, you should call the anonymous We-tip hotline at 800.78-CRIME. Same with unsafe actions or unprofessional behavior, report it. It's important, and we need your help.

IN CLOSING

On behalf of the entire ABX leadership team, I'd I thank you for all you are doing. You continue to provide excellent service, which we all know is important even though it's easy to think that it doesn't matter. It matters because, if the UPS contract falls through, we need to make sure that DHL still has customers, who we can continue to serve for them.

That is all for this week. John Graber will be back next week. In the meantime, thank you for all you are doing for our Company. In closing, I would like to re-emphasize the importance for all of us to be safe and compliant, and to especially take care of each other during these very difficult times

John Graber’s Infoline - July 3, 2008

John Graber’s Infoline - June 26, 2008

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air Infoline for June 26th, 2008. I hope this finds everyone doing well.

Safety and Compliance

It is not unusual for Safe performance to decline in the face of uncertainty like we face today. So I want to thank you for your attention to Safety. Our Safety statistics are tracking close to normal. That is the direct result of the good work you do every day. Please do not stop tending to the Safe and Compliant operation of our business.

Operations

Last week I told you about our remarkable operational performance since May 28th, the day DHL made its announcement about going to UPS. As of last week, our operational performance was a 98.85% on-time average. This week you have raised it to 99.04%. Thank you. This is counting only those delays attributable to ABX Air – not all the delays that our STAR program counts. Our STAR results are lower. But looking at what we control, in the face of this sobering news from our Customer, you are turning in exceptional performance. Please keep it up. It is still true that the best thing we can do to help convince DHL it has made a mistake in deciding to leave Wilmington and ABX Air, is turning in the high service levels you provide them everyday.

Hangar Meetings

We spent the last 24 hours in a series of hangar meetings in Wilmington. If you were one of the 2,500 Employees who attended, thank you for taking the time, and for your question. I’ll briefly recap the meetings for you now, and we’ll quickly be sending a video summary of the meetings to all of you who work outside Wilmington.

We summarized where we believe DHL is in its negotiations with UPS. There is not a signed agreement between the two companies today. That is still in work. If that agreement goes forward, we do see all our overnight sorting and flying work ending in 2009. ASTAR would see its work end next year too. And Mayor Raizk has said that hundreds of DHL’s Employees would lose their jobs as well.

DHL has said again that it will keep a non-express sort operation in Wilmington, and said that ABX Air will operate that sort. We think there will be 700 – 900 positions in that operation.

DHL has also indicated to us that they will transition our Regional Hub system to them by the end of next year. We have not yet seen a schedule for that transition.

About a week ago DHL provided us a final schedule for the initial round of fleet reductions. They intend to park 23 DC-9 aircraft by the end of 2008, and the remainder by July of 2009. They have also announced that one 767 will come out of the system this November. One result of this schedule is that we have worked our last heavy check on a DC-9. We won’t have anymore ABX Air DC-9 heavy visits in our hangar.

These fleet reductions are going to drive job eliminations and layoffs. We are working right now on the plan for how many People we will lay off. We will have more specific numbers of how many Employees are impacted in July.

So in July, we’ll start the process of notifying People their jobs are being eliminated. If you work in Wilmington, we will provide you 60 days notice. We will provide not less than 2 weeks for our other Employees. Last week I said we would provide 60 days notice for all our Employees, and that was not correct. That said, we will do our best to give as much notice as possible under the circumstances.

If you get a notice that your job is being eliminated, you will hear that from one of our leadership team. We will talk to you respectfully, and professionally. We will not give you a notice and walk you out the door. We will give you notice.

We are setting up a Transition Center to help you if you are forced to leave the company. We’ll tell you what other positions are available at ABX Air. We’ll give you help writing a resume, in searching for a job, planning and applying for unemployment assistance, getting education, state aid, and retraining. We’ll hold job fairs on site in Wilmington, so you can meet with companies who want to hire you. We will make the transition from where you are to what comes next as easy as this very difficult thing can be.

Severance Plans

We are still discussing many aspects of our severance and retention plan with DHL.

We will have a severance plan. We will have all the detail for you when we finish our discussions with DHL. You will be eligible for it if we are eliminating your job, and you stay until your last day. Severance will pay you two weeks pay for your first year of service, and one week for every year after that. ABX Air’s severance practice has capped the amount at 12 weeks, but DHL’s plan does not. We are working now to resolve the difference between the two. Health insurance and all other benefits would continue through the end of your severance period. If you had eight weeks of severance coming to you, it would be paid, beginning on your last day, as your are normally paid, every two weeks.

If you are an aircraft mechanic, your severance plan is different from the rest of the company, and we are working now to make that plan the same as everyone else’s. We don’t have all the details of that complete yet.

If you are a pilot for us, your contract does not include severance.

Retention Plan

A retention bonus will be paid to those People whose jobs are being eliminated if you stay until we release you. After the retention program starts, for every month that you work, we will pay you two weeks of additional pay at the end of your employment. So if you work for us six months during the retention period, you would receive your normal pay and benefits for the six months, and another three months of pay at the end of those six months. Retention will most likely be paid as a lump sum, and is in addition to all severance. We are still working with DHL on when this bonus starts.

There is also a $150 a month productivity payment for each month in which you do not use sick leave.

In our hangar talks we also covered the three options we’re working to keep ABX Air in business should DHL elect to leave. I discussed those in last week’s Infoline. You can read that one on the website.

We also discussed our ability to start a true MRO business here, grow our Engineering Services business, and our new Facility Management business.

I very much enjoyed getting to see as many of you as I did yesterday. Thank you again for taking the time to come listen and talk to us. We have a lot of work to do in front of us to secure our futures, and to help the many of us who will have to leave us.

Please help me make sure we are meeting the needs of everyone here during these difficult times. Remember, nobody at ABX Air did anything to deserve this. We are running an excellent company, we are taking very good care of our Customers, and we will continue to do that.

And that is going to be very hard on many of us. When you see a friend or co-worker who needs our help, help them. If you can’t give them the help they need, tell your leader.

Retirements

Let me close this week by mentioning two very significant retirements. Captain Dave Wittnebert and Bob Morgenfeld are retiring. Both these gentlemen work in flight, Captain Wittnebert as our DC-9 Fleet Manager, and Captain Morgenfeld as our Senior Vice President of Flight Operations.

It has been my pleasure to spend a little time with Captain Wittnebert, and he will be missed. I’ve been around Flight Operations and airlines for a long time, and I will tell you I have never heard as many good things said about a management pilot as I have about you, Captain Wittnebert. That is no small accomplishment, sir. Thank you for your service.

I have spent a lot of time with Captain Morgenfeld. We work together directly. And in my time here, I have come to rely on Bob. He cares about our People and our company, and is the consummate professional airman. We have been privileged to have him lead our flight operations for a long time. If I were to list his accomplishments, we would be here way to long. So Bob, let me simply say, thank you. We will miss you. I wish you well.

That is all the news I have for this week. I’ll update the Infoline again next Thursday.

Thank you all for all you are doing for our Company. Please be Safe as you work this week. Watch out for each other. And drop me a note with any questions or comments you have for me. My email address is john.graber@abxair.com.

John Graber’s Infoline - June 19, 2008

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air Infoline for June 19th, 2008. I hope this finds everyone doing well. 

Safety 
We had a reported case of chest pain in Wilmington this week, and that reminds me to talk about heat Safety and hydration. As temperatures climb, your water intake has to follow. Make sure you’re drinking enough liquid before, during and after work. Watch your buddies. Keep everyone Safe. 

Operations
I want to thank everyone in our Company for all you are doing for our business and our Customers. DHL made its announcement about going to UPS on May 28th. In the days since then ABX Air has turned in a 98.85% on-time average. That is a remarkable performance, and it speaks volumes about the kind of People we are, and the things we value. And that kind of performance is extremely important to us all now, because the best thing we can do to help convince DHL it has made a mistake in leaving Wilmington and ABX Air, is continuing the high service levels we provide them everyday. I’ve shared our performance with Ken Allen, DHL’s US CEO, and it is a great story to tell. Thank you for making it happen. 

Working to Keep DHL
As we shine in our day-to-day work supporting DHL, we are also working very hard to show DHL and their parent company, Deutsche Post World Net that they need to reconsider the decision to send their work away from Wilmington. 

Joe Hete and Bob Gray, our VP of Governmental Affairs, have spent days in Washington. They’ve had over 15 meetings with our congressmen, senators, and others. I've been in Washington, Cincinnati and Columbus. I’ve been to many of Ohio’s major newspapers with David Raizk, Wilmington’s Mayor. We’ve met with Ken Allen, and asked for meetings with Deutsche Post at its Bonn headquarters. 

Mayor Raizk’s and Ohio Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher have built a task force to help change the outcome of all this. We’re working on that task force. We’ve met with the Governor and Lieutenant Governor here in Wilmington. We’re helping Ohio’s Attorney General understand antitrust issues. Joe has spoken to ASTAR CEO John Dasburg. We asked Captain Dave Ross, the president of our pilots’ union, to attend our management meeting on May 28th so he could hear Deutsche Post’s announcement at the same time senior company leaders heard it. And we're working with state and local officials to quickly start taking care of our People who will find themselves without work. 

So there is a lot going on. Most of it behind the scenes, but please know we have not given up yet.

There is an old saying that goes something like, “Luck favors the prepared.” We’re working to be very prepared. We have a Plan A, Plan B and a Plan C. We’re working all three simultaneously. 

• Our Plan A is helping elected officials show DHL that it needs to reconsider its decision to leave Wilmington. We want DHL to stay here because we believe in the value of our service to them, and because any other alternative will cost thousands of Wilmington jobs. This is clearly an uphill fight, but given the stakes, we have to fight it. This is why your performance every day is so critical.

• Plan B is to position ourselves as a pure ACMI carrier – a charter cargo airline. We started putting cargo doors on our 767s years ago, as part of our plan to diversify our business. You’ve heard me before say how smart that decision was. Because of it, now we’re well along the path of being able to replace the passenger doors on most of our 767s with cargo doors – adding to the number of 767s with cargo doors we fly. The first aircraft in this program goes to modification in September. The world is full of ACMI carriers, and all of them have much lower costs than we do. We’re going to have to take business away from them, and the only way to do that is to match their cost structure so their Customers become our Customers. 

• If we can’t reduce our costs enough to compete in the ACMI market, our Plan C is to lease our aircraft to other carriers. Our 767s are in demand in the marketplace, and operators with the right cost structures will make money with them. But this is the least attractive option to many ABX Air stakeholders because leasing airplanes means we aren’t operating airplanes. 

There are several parts of our business that we intend to run regardless of what happens to our core DHL and airline businesses. 
• We will have a ground sort in Wilmington for some extended period of time. DHL confirmed this week that they do intend for ABX Air to run a ground hub in Wilmington. 
• We have a strong aircraft engineering business. Our flat panel display business, and other third-party engineering work can pull its own weight regardless of what happens to the rest of our businesses, and it is important to us. We will do everything we can to make that business succeed, and succeed in Wilmington. 
• And if we can lower our costs, we strongly believe we can run a successful MRO business. This is the business we have doing heavy maintenance work on outside aircraft. This line of work is heavily dependent on being able to use the Wilmington hangars, and we are pushing hard to be able to keep them long term. But DHL has not made its plans for the airpark known yet. I’ve asked Dennis Manibusan, our SVP of Maintenance and Engineering, to look around for hangars within driving distance of Wilmington, so we can have options if DHL denies us the use of our hangars here. There is an old Air Force base in Indiana that might be a candidate. 
• Our materials business is a strong one that has a place in our plan moving forward.
• Gary Stover, our VP of Airpark Services, is developing a logistics service organization. That company has very exciting prospects going forward. 

And we’re pursing other opportunities as well. Years of work diversifying our company with business that doesn’t rely on DHL are paying off for us today. I won’t sugar-coat it and tell you we can replace everything we lose if DHL does go away – we won’t. But I can tell you absolutely that we are positioned today to sustain many jobs we could not have supported before. 

What Comes Next 
DHL and UPS have not signed an agreement yet. Our sense of what happens if they do is becoming more clear. Here is what we know:

• DHL continues to tell us they are relying on ABX Air to work for them well into 2009, providing all the services we provide today. That includes sorting, flying, maintenance and airpark services work.
• Our Regional Hub system will begin transitioning to DHL this year. We have not been told which cities would move, or when. 
• There are DC-9s in the DHL schedule through at least April of next year. DHL indicates they have not yet started planning 767 fleet reductions.

It is clear to me that we will reduce the number of positions we have at ABX Air as we move forward. We don’t know what our company will look like yet, but I can see that we will be smaller. Here is what we know today about how reductions will work:
• We won’t eliminate anyone’s position for at least two months.
• We will provide you at least 60 days notice or 60 days of pay if your job is being eliminated. What that means is that we’ll designate the first positions to be eliminated in early July, and it will be at least 60 days before we lay anyone off.
• In addition to the notice, we will offer a severance package and a retention package. 

We’re going to have a series of hangar meetings next week so I can talk directly to all of you. Please look for the schedule and come to a meeting. I’ll answer every question I can. 

And please make sure you have the latest list of Frequently Asked Questions. We’re working to get you every answer to the hundreds of questions you’ve sent us. It is available on the web site.

Please come to our hangar meetings next week. 

I’ll update this Infoline again next Thursday. 

Thank you all for all you are doing for our Company. Please be Safe as you work this week. Watch out for each other. And drop me a note with any questions or comments you have for me. My email address is john.graber@abxair.com.

Dennis Manibusan’s INFOline – June 12, 2008 

Hello ladies and gentlemen. My name is Dennis Manibusan, your Senior Vice President of Maintenance & Engineering, with the ABX Air INFOline for June 12, 2008. 

It has been two weeks since we learned of DHL’s plans to move most of our work to UPS. Since that time, we have worked hard to communicate everything we know to you, as fast as we can. We are so proud of the ABX Team, for how you are all dealing with the news. We can’t thank you enough for your hard work and dedication. We realize it’s hard to stay focused with so much hanging over our heads. Keep up the good work. And please, let us know if there is anything more that we can be doing, to help you through this difficult time, with so much uncertainty. 

I’ll update where we are, and what we know with this INFOline today. 
As a follow up, John Graber is tentatively planning a hangar meeting next week for further updates, to give all of you, a chance to ask your questions, face to face.

Safety First
We cannot talk about the importance of Safety enough. It is especially crucial, in these difficult times. So don’t set it aside, especially now. If you see something that isn’t safe, point it out or do something about it. 

The Latest
So what is going on with the DHL situation? 

First and foremost, John Graber & Joe Hete and the entire ABX leadership team continue to work very hard for the future of ABX Air and our employees.

We are also witnessing terrific support from the Clinton County community, which we appreciate and need. 

The biggest news that we have for this week, is the aircraft reduction plan. 

On Tuesday, June 10, ABX received a preliminary DC-9 reduction schedule, which identifies twenty-three (23) DC-9 aircraft planned for release from the DHL network between now and the end of this year. 

 These aircraft involve seven (7) DC-9-40 aircraft, four (4) DC-9-30 aircraft with cargo doors, and twelve (12) DC-9-30 aircraft without the cargo doors.

 Nine of these aircraft will be released this month. Of the nine (9) aircraft identified, five (5) have previously been parked in Cincinnati, so the net impact for June is four (4) aircraft being reduced from DHL service.

 The next scheduled reduction dates are as follows: five (5) aircraft to be released in July, two (2) in August, three (3) in October and four (4) in November, for a total of 23 this year. 

 Please note, that this information is preliminary, and ABX is expecting formal notification from DHL, sometime in the next week or two.

As announced earlier, DHL’s plan, which they refer to as the Delaware Plan, calls for 39 DC-9s to be parked within the next 12-18 months. These 23 aircraft are part of that plan. We currently do not have a schedule beyond 2008, for the remaining 16 DC-9 aircraft. As we receive additional information from DHL, we will update you in a timely manner.

Keep sending in your questions, and we will keep working on finding the answers. To date we have released 41 of the most asked questions. Visit www.MyABX.com/FYI for the complete list. 

That’s all on the DHL piece for this week. 

Our People
Now, Let me take a moment to talk about our great people. 

ABX currently employs 68 folks who have been or will be with ABX for 30 years or more at the end of 2008! Wow! 

On that note, I want to Congratulate Aircraft Engineer Danny Wheatcraft on his 25th ABX anniversary this Friday, June 13.

Also, Last week we proudly celebrated and welcomed home, Senior Avionics Technician Ed Gaglione, who is in the Army and recently returned from a 633 day tour of duty. Ed has been with ABX since 1999. 
Ed, thank you for your service to our country. We are glad to have you safely back home and back with us at ABX.

Business News
One last piece of information that I would like to share with everyone. As we look for opportunities to grow our business, we continue to aggressively pursue the conversion of our B767-200PC aircraft from C-container to a cargo-door aircraft. We are currently in the third phase of the project, which is the critical design review phase, and involves finalizing the detailed specification and design, and the development of the certification plan and program schedule. The next phase involves the selection of a prototype aircraft and delivery planned for late August to Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in Tel Aviv, Israel, for induction into the B767-200 freighter conversion line. Once the first prototype aircraft is converted and certified, the estimated completion projected for the third quarter 2009, the plan is to have a total of fourteen aircraft converted by the end of 2010.

That is all for this week.

In closing, I would like to re-emphasize the importance for all of us to be safe and compliant, and to especially take care of each other during these very difficult times.

John Graber will be back next week. In the meantime, thank you for all you are doing for our Company and please, keep up your wonderful support to our Customers. 

John Graber’s INFOline - June 5, 2008

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air INFOline for June 5, 2008. I hope this finds everyone doing well. 

It has been a week since we learned of DHL’s plans to move most of our work to UPS. In the time since, we’ve worked hard to communicate everything we know to you as fast as we can. I’ll update where we are, and what we know with this INFOline today. And we’re planning a hangar meeting later this month to share more of what we know, and give you all a chance to ask me your questions face to face. I’m taking a little time to hold the hangar meeting because I want to make sure I have as many answers for you at the meeting as I can possibly have. 

Safety First
Before I get into then news, I want to emphasize Safety first – now more than ever. We have done a great job this past week – no accidents and only one injury. Thank you to everyone who helped us achieve that milestone; one accident it still too many, but it is significant that thousands of us, faced with the news we’ve had, still show up and work professionally, efficiently, and Safely every day. You have to keep that up. 

You’ve heard me say it time and again, but it is worth repeating – we owe everyone the opportunity to work Safely; to go home uninjured at the end of their shift. Nothing we do is more important than that. Tuesday night, when dangerous weather rolled across Wilmington during the sort, our Jan Woolums and Don Cook, our Senior Directors of Night Operations and their team of operational leaders made the decision to stop work and have everyone take shelter. The weather delayed our system 90 minutes. Ninety minutes is a huge delay – very bad for business – and taking a delay that big was exactly the right thing to do. When you see Jan and Don, thank them for putting Safety first. I applaud their prudence and their caution. 

We’re in thunderstorm season now. Make sure you know what you’re supposed to do during convective weather. No one will take better care of you than you. If you see a dangerous storm approaching, or hear the warnings, know where you’re supposed to go, and get there as quickly and Safely as you can. Help your buddies do the same.

The Latest
So what is going on with the DHL situation? A lot.

First, let me tell you – we aren’t quitting. We’re working hard to keep ABX Air alive. I’ve been to Washington, D.C. talking to people there, Joe Hete’s been to Washington, and Bob Gray’s been to Washington. We’ve spoken with state officials in Columbus; we’ve spent time with Clinton County officials, and with Wilmington’s mayor. 

Local, state and federal officials have formed a task force with the goal of preserving as many jobs here as we can. ABX Air leaders are making sure everyone knows just what is at stake here if DHL goes through with its plan to close us down. There is a lot of concern at every level of government. It is too early to say what comes of all these questions, but we think it is important that everyone understand the impact of DHL’s plan.

I’ve received hundreds of emails from you, asking questions about what happens next. I’m working through those messages now, and I’ll answer every one of them myself, and through our Communications Department, with their Frequently Asked Questions list. If you have a question, we think many others will want to know the same thing, so watch for the FAQ lists as they come out. We’re on the third edition now.

Far and away everyone’s primary concerns are: when will we lay people off, what kind of severance program will we have, and are we offering a retention program? 

First, I need to tell you that if DHL succeeds in signing an agreement with UPS, it will mean the loss of thousands of ABX Air jobs. That kind of change is something organizations normally spend months planning for. We’ve had 1 week. The issues are very complex, and it is easy to screw something up because these aren’t problems we deal with every day. So let me start by telling you I don’t have all the answers you want yet. But we do know a lot more than we knew last week.

We will offer notice to our People if we have to lay someone off. We still do not have a final schedule from DHL telling us when all the aircraft will come out of the system, or when we will change our sort operations. But we will not have you show up for work tomorrow, and make that your last day of pay and benefits. We will treat everyone with the dignity and respect they deserve. None of this will be easy, and we will do all we can so it isn’t harder than it has to be.

We will offer a severance package. We’re working out the details now, but it is clear we’ll offer something similar to what we’ve done in the past – so much severance pay for so much time worked. 

We are going to have a retention program designed to incent you to stay and do a good job, knowing your job will come to an end. And we will offer transition assistance. We’ll hold job fairs, we’ll help you write resumes, and we’ll coach you on how to interview for a job. If we have to tell you your job here is over, we’ll help you manage that transition. 

How will we staff our Company if we lay People off is another huge question People are asking. We’re going to manage vacancies in several ways. 

• We’ve frozen outside hires for every position but sort personnel. It just makes sense to us that if we might furlough in the future, we want to offer our internal candidates any slots we have available before we hire from the outside. 
• Looking back at how we’ve managed cuts in the past shows us we have several methods, depending on where you work in our company. Maintenance has one process, flight operations another. Ground still another. I’ve told our operational leaders to get with Human Resources and validate how we intend to fill a shrinking number of positions, if we have a layoff. I’ve told everyone we have to do several things: we have to consider what we’ve done in the past, we have to treat people fairly, and we have to use a method that allows us to continue running our business. 

If we really do have to lay off hundreds of our People, doing it the right way is critical. I’ll tell you how that looks as soon as we complete our review. 

Joe Hete, Quint Turner and I met again on Monday afternoon with Mr. Ken Allen, DHL’s US CEO, and with John Cameron, their Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Allen confirmed for us that they are still negotiating with UPS, and that they do not have a contract at this time. Mr. Allen told us they intend for ABX Air to operate a Wilmington day sort operation for the foreseeable future. The day sort operation in Wilmington is a truck hub operation. And Mr. Cameron indicated that a DHL leader misspoke during a recent DHL Gateway Meeting. The DHL leader said DHL would be running everything here within the next six months. Mr. Cameron took great pains to tell us that comment was in error. They expect us to operate for them for some time to come.

Those are the big pieces of news regarding this most important issue. Please do keep sending me your questions and we’ll get them answered.

Operations
I want to mention one operational note today. When all those storms rolled across Wilmington Tuesday night, some of them hit in the middle of our approach window. ASTAR diverted aircraft. Northwest diverted. Lufthansa diverted. Cargojet diverted. 100 percent of ABX Air aircraft landed. All of them. Every single one. That kind of operational performance is the direct result of the skill, dedication and experience of thousands of our People – our pilots, our dispatchers, our flight control professionals, our control tower operators, and our Air Park Services pros. My hat is off to all of you. What a great job. You figured out how to Safely meet a schedule, and you did it during extremely demanding weather. This was the third time this year that extreme weather disrupted DHL’s operation – and the third time this year that ABX Air’s professionals led our company to the best operational performance of any DHL airline. Nice job, everyone. Keep it up.

I’ll update this INFOline again Thursday of next week. In the meantime, thank you for all you are doing for our Company. Please be Safe as you work this week, and please keep up your wonderful support for our Customer. And drop me a note with any questions or comments you have for me. My e-mail address is john.graber@abxair.com.

John Graber's INFOline - May 29, 2008 

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air Infoline for May 29, 2008. I hope this finds everyone doing as well as possible under the circumstances. 

Safety
Now more than ever it is important to make sure you’re working Safely. Please watch what you are doing, and watch you buddy. Help us keep everyone Safe at work.

DHL’s Decision 
By now you have heard about DHL’s decisions. I will spend all of this week’s message talking about them. 

DHL has decided it cannot sustain its losses in the US. Last year they lost about a billion dollars here. This year they expect to lose 1.3 billion dollars. They are taking drastic action to stem those losses – in the short term they will cut the number of aircraft we’re flying for them. They’ve told us they intend to park 39 of our DC-9s. They expect to start that reduction in July, and have it completed in 12 to 18 months. Parking that many aircraft means we’ll reduce our workforce by about 500 people – most of them pilots, mechanics and support personnel. 

We got the first indication of a schedule for those reductions today. Initial indications are DHL will park 13 DC-9s in July and August. Eight of those aircraft are flying routes today, three are spares, and two are backup aircraft. Now that we know part of the DHL schedule, we’ll begin the work of planning personnel reductions. I’m not going to have our folks finish that work until we see the entire DC-9 schedule, so this will take some time. 

In addition to parking DC-9s, DHL yesterday announced they are in negotiations with UPS to have UPS do all their flying and express sort work. If the two companies sign a contract, DHL said it intends to transition all of our flying, all of Astar’s flying, and our express sort operations to UPS by the end of 2009. The change would not start for some months, but if they are successful, and nothing else changes, we would lose thousands of jobs over the next year and a half. 

DHL has indicated we would maintain our day sort operations in Wilmington for some time to come. DHL also told us they will continue the regional hub network. Over some period of time, we expect DHL to take over those hubs, but we don’t know yet when that will happen. And of course they will need many of our People in those operations.

All this news is bad for us. I won’t try to tell you it isn’t. This is going to have a dramatic impact on our ABX Air family and our community. But there are a few points of not-so-bad news that are worth mentioning. First, and most important – we have some time to work through what this means to all of you. And we’re doing that. We’re looking at everything we can do to make sure we take the best care of our People and our business in light of this new challenge. And it is very important that we all remember – nothing is going to change for several weeks, if not months. Second, your company has worked for years to expand our business beyond DHL, and we have some hundreds of Employees who work in those areas today. In the coming months, we’ll work to strengthen those areas of our business, and expand them if we can. We’ll try to create as many jobs in those areas as possible. And finally, we’re fighters. I’ve not been here long, but I’ve been here long enough to see what all of us can do together. 

ABX Air has significant value in the marketplace. We do things no one else can do. Our Part 145 maintenance work, our back shop support, our Japanese flying and our postal operations are all examples of the things we do that others can’t. Our cost structure is based on a package delivery business, and it is too high. We have to work on that. But we can, and we will. None of this will be easy, but we can compete in the marketplace, and we’re working hard on how to do that. 

Rumor Control
The news has sparked hundreds of rumors. Really, there are too many to cover this week. I’ve asked your executives to be out and about our business this week. Talk to them. Ask them your questions. Make sure we’re getting you answers. We’re publishing a Frequently Asked Questions list tomorrow, and we’ll publish another one next week. We’ll answer everything we can, as fast as we can.

We are trying to over-communicate with you to make sure you can tell rumor from fact, but we are still at a place that there are many things we simply don’t know. Please make sure you ask us your questions. Let us work for you by giving you answers as soon as we can.

I’ll update this Infoline Thursday of next week. In the meantime, thank you for all you are doing for our Company. Please be Safe as you work this week. And drop me a note with any questions or comments you have for me. My email address is john.graber@abxair.com.

INFOline - May 22, 2008 - Special guest - Bob Morgenfeld

Good day folks. This is Bob Morgenfeld from the Flight Department with the ABX Air INFOline for May 22, 2008. As a reminder, Monday, May 26 is Memorial Day. Memorial Day was first started to honor Union Soldiers who died during the American Civil War. After World War I, it was expanded to commemorate all U.S. men and women who have died in military service to our country. Please take time on Monday to remember those who have given so much. Also, thanks to all of you who have served or continue to serve the country and to those of you who support our military service members.

SAFETY

This, of course, brings me to an important safety item. Many of you will be taking to the road over the long weekend. Please drive safely and responsibly, and be on the lookout for those who are not. Whatever you choose to do over the weekend, make it enjoyable but most of all, keep it safe.

Also on the safety front, I recently read an email from one of our Safety Coordinators who observed several pilots as well as other Company employees who were not wearing the appropriate reflective gear while on the ramp. Flight immediately put a reminder out to our crews that they should be wearing their visibelts. The good news is that our reminder generated numerous requests for new visibelts, but on the down side, it was apparent we had slipped in our vigilance, as we should not have had the sudden need for so many belts. If you see your friends/coworkers without reflective gear, please remind them that it is required on the ramp. We want all of you to return home safely from work and we need to look out for one another. The ramps are congested and busy and we really appreciate everyone’s attention to being visible and keeping safety a top priority.

Sometimes it is easy to miss the team aspect of safety issues. I have been made aware of an issue that was resolved with great teamwork. After a serious safety incident involving ladders used to pull parts in Aircraft Stores, Cheryl Webb and Patty Chambers in Purchasing set up a meeting with our supplier to demonstrate our employee’s safety concerns with the ladder’s design. Cheryl and Patty, working with Judy Branham and Ron Flint, as well as our supplier, arranged to have the questionable ladders returned to the supplier and replaced. Thanks and well done to all involved for a well thought out resolution to a serious issue and helping to make ABX a safer place to work. 

DHL

I believe we are all aware that we are anxiously awaiting word from DHL regarding the direction they intend to take in the future of their business and how that will affect us here at ABX. For sure, this can be very distracting as we go on about our daily jobs. At times like this, we need to increase our focus on the task at hand, relying more than ever on the application of the established processes and procedures. Please ensure that you maintain the required focus and that others around you are doing the same. Safety has to remain our number one priority. As John Graber shared last week, we’ll move very quickly from not knowing what DHL plans, to knowing exactly what they want to do. When we know, your leadership is committed to telling you as fast as we can. 

PEOPLE

I would like to pass along a “well done” to Marty Holmes. Marty received a recognition letter for his efforts to prevent two A containers that were being blown by the wind from damaging other equipment. Another well done goes to James Mitchell who received the Silver Wings of Excellence on April 24 for implementing a plan to reduce the steps required to recode freight, thus reducing costs and improving our service. Thanks James for going above and beyond the normal call of duty.

My personal thanks to 767 Captain Scott Parker and 767 First Officer Matt Bablitz for their support and assistance to maintenance while troubleshooting an engine problem on one of 767s involved in the ANA Operation—Thanks guys for the Team effort! 

RUMORS

I would like to address rumors, but frankly, I have not heard any good ones this week. Given that I have not, I thought about starting a few really good ones, but decided against it.

BUSINESS NEWS

In business news was the announcement on May 19 that Captain Mike Gerdes would be assuming my position as the Senior Vice President of Flight Operations when I retire in early July. Mike comes to us with over 20 years of commercial airline experience, most recently as the Vice President of Flight Operations at ATA Airlines. While at ATA, Mike was also Chief Pilot, Fleet Manager, Line Check Airman and Simulator Check Airman. Prior to ATA, Mike worked for Com Air, Eastern and Pan Am. He has a B.S. Degree in Applied Science and Technology from Thomas A. Edison State College and is currently working on his MBA at Indiana Wesleyan University . Please take the time to welcome Mike to the ABX Air family and I ask that you all give him the same support you have given to me since accepting responsibility for the Flight Department in 1991.

Also in business news, Air Transport Services Group, formerly ABX Holdings, announced on May 19 that ABX Air’s Hub and Line Haul Services Agreement with DHL is now scheduled to renew in August for an additional one year period. This extension is no doubt the result of all the hard work and effort put in by our colleagues in the Ground Department. Congratulations on this achievement comes from as far away as Japan , where John Chiaffitelli (Manager, Japan Line Aircraft Maintenance) said “please let the Ground employees know that many of us, not in Ground, do greatly appreciate what they do every night. They are under a great deal of stress and uncertainty, but that doesn’t deter them. An outstanding example for all of us.” John, I could not have said it better, and those are very meaningful words coming from the man who makes our ANA operations so successful on a day to day basis.

Speaking of Air Transport Services Group, don’t forget that when looking for information on ABX Air, the new stock symbol is now ATSG, and no longer ABXA.

While on the topic of our 3rd party business, May 15th marked the one-year anniversary of our operations for ANA in Japan . This has been a most challenging start up, with the Japanese carefully reviewing every aspect of our operations. While we have not been perfect, I am extremely proud of this start up operation, operating in to and out of Japan , something never before accomplished by a foreign carrier. It has taken a great effort on the part of many folks, mechanics, line pilots, management pilots, loadmasters and aircraft dispatchers to make all this work. My thanks go out to all the people who have worked hard to make this operation a success, even when so many said it could not be done. This is an accomplishment that should make all of us at ABX justifiably proud. 

PILOT NEGOTIATIONS

I would like to give you all a brief update on our pilot negotiations. You may have heard that last year we were left with only two areas to complete on our negotiations, compensation and retirement. Subsequent to that time however, the Union opted to open almost every article in the agreement, or simply stated, start over. We were disappointed at the thought of a long, drawn out negotiations when our initial goal was to get a quick contract by changing very little in the current book. That said, this reopening has allowed us to go back and rethink our pilot work rules with the hope of altering many of our current restrictions as they apply to our 3rd party, or charter business. It is our hope that we can now work with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in a joint effort to come up with work rules that will make us more productive and competitive in our effort to grow the charter operations.

FLIGHT DEPARTMENT NEWS

In other Flight Department news, many of you have heard and asked about junior manning, or emergency assignments in the Flight Department, specifically that they have increased dramatically in recent times. There is some truth to that statement. Junior manning is how we assign trips that we cannot otherwise cover. Our current scheduling system requires that a large volume of our flying to be placed in what we call open time. It is really nothing more than overtime work. Traditionally, we have seen approximately 85% or more of these trips voluntarily bid by crewmembers that wanted to make extra money. The idea behind the open flying concept was to allow the existing crewmembers an opportunity to make more money and the company would not have to hire more crewmembers which would save us some costs---a win—win arrangement. Starting in December, we have seen a dramatic drop in that percentage number of extra flying that our crewmembers are picking up, which leaves us with fewer options to get the trips flown. Some may go to reserves with the rest requiring a junior man assignment to ensure our customers are properly serviced. If open flying were currently bid at traditional rates, we would see a marked decline in these assignments as we are currently staffed to handle the historical open flying bid habits of the crews. It appears the flight crews are no longer interested in the overtime work and proposals have been sent to the Union in our contract negotiations that will accommodate the new appetite for this work in an equitable fashion for both parties.

Finally from Flight, we are currently working closely with DHL, Astar and the FAA as we look at ways to improve airport efficiency and safety. Examples of items being reviewed are deice processes and procedures, standard instrument arrivals and departures for our crews, and new technologies to help enhance airport safety.

That is what I have for this week’s INFOline. Keep up the good work, have a great week and check back next Thursday afternoon for the next INFOline message. As a reminder, you can also get the INFOline message on the web at www.myabx.com/infoline. 

John Graber’s INFOline - May 15, 2008

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air INFOline for May 15, 2008. I hope this finds you all well. Saturday, May 17 is Armed Forces day. We have thousands of fine young Americans in harms way right now, some of them are fellow Employees. Please remember to thank all those who serve and protect our country.

Safety & Compliance
I start every INFOline talking about Safety because it is the most important job we all have. One of the best things you can do to ensure your Safety, and the Safety of those around you, is to properly use your Personal Protective Equipment – PPE. Earplugs and reflective material are two of the most important parts of PPE you have. Please make sure you use them right. This is a basic component of Safety – and like most basics, it is important. Do it right.

People
Let me tell you about what our People have been doing.

Bill McEvoy, Jim Lane, Troy Frazier, and Will Tharpe in our Ground Department proved how important it is to ask our Employees about what works.

We were worried about what to do if a 747 broke down at ILN, and we had to have three of the big planes on the ramp. Our original plan used five gates on D Ramp. When Bill, Jim, Troy and Will showed up with their R-1 colleagues, they built a plan that used only two gates, dramatically reducing the impact to our operation. In his commendation letter, Ground VP Brady Templeton said “their efforts were outstanding, and pointed out to Ground management the importance of relying on our Employees, asking for their input, and trusting their judgment.” Nice job, gents. Many thanks for the headwork. 

Dave Conway, another Ground person, prevented a disastrous situation. He saw flames beneath a barge filled with C containers. Without hesitating, or thinking about his personal Safety, Dave grabbed a fire extinguisher and put out the fire. Thank you, Dave.

Cheyenne Penn saw a C container come off a dragon and roll towards an aircraft. Cheyenne wrestled the container to a stop before it could do any damage. Thanks, Cheyenne. 

Fred Lay saw the same thing happen on the same windy night. Fred sprinted across the ramp to get to the C container in time, and stopped it from hitting a plane. Fred, thanks so much.

767 Captain Mark Henderson told us of the great job of a contracted ground crew in Mather. As the ground crew was pushing back Captain Henderson’s aircraft, Marquis Simms and Sean Hickling, of Integrated Services in Mather, saw one of the aircraft’s brake lines leaking. Their attention to detail kept a minor problem from becoming a major one. 

And while I’m talking about People, a major concern of many of our Ground folks is what would happen to their benefits if their hours drop too low in a pay period. They worry about losing their part-time benefits. According to our HR professionals, we grant part-time benefits based on your scheduled hours, not the actual hours you work. Part-time benefits come with fifteen scheduled hours a week.

Business News 
First, ABX Holdings our parent company, held its annual shareholders’ meeting Tuesday, May 13. It was my first meeting as President of our company. It was a good one. We had over 200 people attend, who had many great questions. Thanks to all of you who took time out from your day to come learn more about what your company is doing.

New name
Shareholders voted to change ABX Holdings’ name at the meeting. ABX Holdings is now called Air Transport Services Group (ATSG). The change is meant to more clearly differentiate the holding company from ABX Air, and to better describe the diverse base of our offerings.

Q1 results
At the meeting, our CEO, Joe Hete, announced that in the first quarter of 2008, ATSG’s revenues increased 33 percent to $382.1 million. It was a good quarter. 

It is worth noting that a shareholder proposal recommended by the Teamsters national organization passed. ATSG’s board of directors had opposed the measure. The proposal recommends the board withdraw what is commonly called a poison pill, a plan intended to safeguard the Company from takeover bids. It is too complex an issue to cover here, but you can read all about it in our proxy on the holding company web site www.abxholdings.com. 

Rumor Control
We have many rumors and questions to cover this week.

Layoff rumors
First, there is a rumor that we’re going to lay off People with less than ten years of seniority in our Ground Department. It came from someone who just transferred from Logistics to Ground. We are not planning on laying off People with a certain seniority. 

A rumor in Maintenance, says we’re ordering 20 percent fewer technician uniforms than we have in the past. No one knows where that came from. It isn’t true. But there may be a valid root to these layoff rumors. I want to take a minute to talk about it. 

I’ve said for weeks that we’re waiting for DHL to tell us their plan for the U.S. market going forward. We don’t know the plan yet, and I’m fairly certain DHL doesn’t know its final plan yet. But there is a widespread notion that whatever DHL does in the U.S., it is going to get smaller. DHL can shrink or change in a hundred ways without impacting ABX Air. There are hundreds of ways DHL can shrink, change, and never impact ABX Air. But it is fair to say there are many ways DHL’s actions can have a huge impact on our business, the jobs we provide, and on our People. So, until we know what DHL is going to do, rumors like this are going to fly around our workplace. 

I think we’ll move very quickly from not knowing what DHL plans, to knowing exactly what they want to do. When we know, I’ll make sure we tell you as fast as we can. 

Clocking In
We have a question about clocking in. One of our Employees wants to know why he can’t clock in at the Employee Welcome Center. Our procedures do take a lot of your time, traveling between the gate and where you work. That is a common problem at many airports. Security requires Employees to park far from their workplace at airports all over the world. Like many employers, we require that you go on the clock when you get to your assigned work area and are ready to work. 

A question about security screening
Another question is why Employees exiting the Administration building are only searched randomly? I work in the Admin. building, and I get searched all the time, so I asked about this. What I’m told is that Admin. building Employees receive the same screening as employees at other gates: X-ray and metal detectors. 

One difference, however is Employees who work in Admin. aren’t asked to remove their shoes. Security has people take off their shoes as a deterrent to theft that occurs in areas where we handle freight. Theft control is, regrettably, a very important part of our business. ABX doesn’t make the security procedures, but all of us need to support them. 
Thank you all for helping make sure all our freight gets where it is supposed to go.

New hangar rumors
Maintenance Control has heard a rumor that we’re looking for space to build a hangar at the Toledo airport. We are not. The version heard in Information Systems is we’re building or leasing a hangar in Dallas/Fort Worth. We’re not.
Restricting jewelry in the sort
There is a rumor in the sort that we aren’t going to allow jewelry, including wedding bands at work. I’ve been reminded that wedding rings symbolize the sanctity of marriage and are meant to never be removed. And I’ve been reminded that some rings won’t come off due to weight gain and arthritis. 

We’re working with DHL on a new security policy, and I’m sure we will restrict almost all jewelry, and that will include wedding rings. I know that will be controversial, and I greatly respect employees’ points of view. However there are many jobs where you just can’t wear jewelry. I wasn’t allowed to as an Army pilot. Rings were considered dangerous – too easy to catch on something, too easy to tear a finger off. The Army always showed us the ugly pictures of skinned fingers to hammer home the point. I don’t think our mechanics should wear rings for the same reason. 

I think that same reasoning applies in much of our work, but we will make the change because of security concerns – I won’t try to tell you differently. And we’ll work as best we can with the folks who can’t comply with the new policy. 

Part of this new policy is going to restrict cell phones in many ways. We don’t have all the details figured out yet, but when we do, please work with us. We’re losing millions of dollars worth of material every year to theft. Tighter security is one way to stem that tide of losses. 

Benefits status
I got a question asking what would happen to retirement and Employee benefits if DHL took over our sort operations in Wilmington. 
The short answer is that your vested retirement benefits are yours, regardless of what DHL does. However, if DHL took over a line of our business, they would be the new employer for that business, and their benefit plan would be the one that covered you, if you worked for them.

Airport casino
Here’s the best one I have heard in awhile, which someone sent me in e-mail. According to the rumor, the casino people have chosen to buy DHL out. The automated sort will be used as the casino. The tilt trays will circulate dropping money, and the bag chutes will become slot machines…when you pull the handle of the bag chute and win, the tilt tray will rotate, dropping your winnings. Jets will be landing day and night as the rich come to the airport to try their luck. We don’t know anything about this rumor. But if you hear something, let me know.

DC-9 plan
Another rumor is that all red C-containers are being made airworthy, so we must have a new plan for DC-9s. What we know is that we’re short on red containers and have been asked to stop repairs on green containers, while we work on clear, and red ones. We don’t have new plans for DC-9s.

That’s all I have for this week’s INFOline. Please do send me your rumors and questions, and I’ll get them answered. E-mail is the best way to do that, and my e-mail address is john.graber@abxair.com. 

Thank you again for all you are doing for our Company. Remember Armed Forces Day. I hope you enjoy the week. 

Check back next Thursday after noon for the next INFOline message. And you can get this INFOline on the web at www.myabx.com/infoline

John Graber’s INFOline - May 8, 2008

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air INFOline for May 8, 2008. I hope this finds you all well. Mother's Day is Sunday. I hope all our ABX Air moms have a great day. Remember your mother this Sunday.

Safety & Compliance

Starting with Safety this week – we're in the construction and repair season in most parts of our operation. If you have a ramp, floor, walkway, or road that needs patching, make sure Air Park Services or your leader knows about it. Don't let us miss the opportunity to repair unsafe conditions.

And now it is hot almost everywhere in our system. Pay attention to the heat as you work, and pay attention to your buddies around you. Make sure everyone is all right as they work.

People

I've got more good stories to tell you about our People.

Terry Frey, one of our Avionics Staff Engineers, earned a thousand bucks through our Suggestion Award Program. Terry built an extensive technical data package that allows us to fabricate and install our own kits instead of having to buy the very expensive Boeing Kits needed for an aircraft alteration. Terry's hard work showed the FAA how to approve a program that may save ABX Air over $500,000. Thank you very much, Terry. That is a really nice job.

Because of when we fly, we often generate noise complaints. It is a huge issue in our business. People in California are especially sensitive to airport noise, and the people who live around our Riverside operation are no exception. Captain Jack Jarvis created a set of procedures we fly to reduce the impact we make on the people who live around Riverside. We got a letter from the noise experts in California applauding our work there. It said, "We do appreciate the conscious efforts by ABX Air and its DC-9 flight crews in reducing the impacts of early morning departures from Riverside. . . . Everyone, including the 767 crews have been doing a remarkable job. Although we still experience complaints, we appreciate that the procedures ABX Air and its crews established over a year ago continue to be observed." Nice job, Captain Jarvis, and all of our pilots who fly neighborly the precision. Many thanks.

Congratulations go out to DC-9 First Officer Kevin Walters. Kevin finished his Bachelor of Science degree, and wrote Joe Hete to thank Joe for our Tuition Reimbursement benefit. Nice job, Kevin. I know that was a lot of hard work. Well done.

Two group achievements worth noting: ABX Air and our Employees donated over $3,000 to the recent Clinton County Red Cross Heroes campaign. The Red Cross does remarkable things for People in need. Thanks for giving to this great cause.

And the American Cancer Society honored the ABX Air Relay for Life team for spectacular fundraising success. ABX Air Employees raised over $60,000. That puts our group in the top 10 of all American Cancer Society donors. What a great job in both efforts.

We have two pieces of very sad news to pass on this week.

First, one of our Employees, Ashley Barker, died in an auto accident. Ashley was 23. She had a lot of friends here. Please remember her mother, father, and sister in your thoughts and prayers.

And one of our retired captains, Mike Milarcik, passed away in April. Captain Milarcik had fought cancer for a long time. The folks who knew him said he was an outstanding airman, Employee, and a good friend. Please remember his family, too.

Business News

First, ABX Holdings, our parent company, has the annual shareholders' meeting on Tuesday, May 13 at 11 a.m. It will be at the Roberts Centre in Wilmington. If you are an ABX Air shareholder or Employee, you are welcome to attend.

DHL

Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN), the parent company of DHL Express, had its annual shareholders' meeting in Germany this week and made several announcements that are important to us.

• DPWN's CEO, Frank Appel, announced that DHL's US CEO, Hans Hickler, has been replaced. They are bringing in Ken Allen, who has most recently been DHL's CEO of Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Mr. Allen also has been CEO of DHL's Canadian business. Hans told me Monday evening that Mr. Allen is a strong operator who will move DHL's domestic business forward. Hans is staying with DHL, working on international strategic issues.

• Mr. Appel also said at the shareholders' meeting that DHL intends to remain in the US for the long term and that they are still working on their plans for this market. He reiterated that they'd have those plans out to by the end of May.

STAR Update

I've met on our STAR update, and we are making progress moving forward. I'm going to brief our Customer on our plans later this month and will be able to update you again after that meeting. Thanks for your patience.

Rumor Control

We have several rumors to talk about this week.

There is a report that ASTAR employees were overheard talking at a local business. The report came to me saying that ASTAR top executives have been meeting with DHL, and that ASTAR will be taking over many, if not all flights, and the maintenance of aircraft in Wilmington. The report said all this would be announced on May 7.

I'm sure that top ASTAR executives do talk to DHL often. I know top ABX Air executives do. There is an intensive planning cycle going on at DHL. They are looking at everything to save money. We have talked to them about lots of alternatives. I won't speculate on discussions anyone else might be having with DHL. So far, they have not told us they are changing the routes we fly. And it is probably worth noting that I'm recording this version of our INFOline on May 8, and the rumor said there would be an announcement yesterday. As far as I know, nothing like that as happened.

An Employee told another Employee that the Dayton newspaper has reported that FedEx will sign an agreement to take over DHL's domestic business. We can't find that story in the Dayton paper, and DHL has not informed us of that. Some investment analysts have recommended that DHL consider a strategy like that to save money in the US. But other analysts said doing something like that would ruin DHL's chances of ever succeeding in the US.

We have a rumor that our pilots and our largest shareholders are planning to form a coalition to try and force ABX Air to sell the company to Red Mountain. Red Mountain is an investment organization that owns a large number of ABX Holdings shares. Red Mountain recently signed an agreement not to change its position in ABX Holdings in return for our providing them information about our company. So Red Mountain can't, as long as the agreement is in place, do something like buy ABX Air. I can't speak to what our pilots and other investors might or might not be doing.

We have a recurring rumor that DHL is going to announce next week that it is taking over the Wilmington Hub. We are not in talks with DHL about that, and we have no indication at all that they are planning such a move.

There are a lot of rumors around our business now in large part because of the uncertainty surrounding what DHL might do next. I wish I could stop all the speculation, because I know it is hard on everyone. I can't. What I can do is answer all the rumors you send to me. So please keep them coming.

That's all I have for this week's INFOline. Please do send me your rumors and questions, and I'll get them answered. Email is the best way to do that, and my email address is john.graber at abxair.com.

Thank you again for all you are doing for our Company. I hope you enjoy the week. And please do pay attention to the change in seasons. Stay hydrated. Stay Safe.

Check back next Thursday afternoon for the next INFOline message. And you can get this INFOline on our network now. Go to www.myabx.com/infoline.

John Graber’s INFOline - May 1, 2008

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air INFOline for May 1, 2008. I hope this finds you all well. 

Safety & Compliance
As I will most weeks, I’ll start this week’s INFOline with a Safety note. 

It is about to get warmer in Ohio, a lot warmer. And of course it is already warmer in much of the country. So be careful as the seasons change. Think about the sun if you work outside in the daytime. Think about the heat if you’re working where that is a factor. Every year heat hurts someone at ABX Air. Don’t let it be you. 

I met with our corporate Safety team this week. Our Safety team is a group of professionals charged with making sure we operate they way we should. They are very good at their jobs – they worry about everyone here, and how we do things. When you see one of the bright yellow Safety jackets, welcome the person into your area. They are there to help keep you Safe. 

People

As I said last week, one of the best parts of my job is getting the chance to recognize the great things our People do. Every day hundreds of you do remarkable things to serve our Customers and each other. 

Kirk Mathews of our ramp organization in Wilmington saved us from a potentially serious accident. Working flight 1743, he hooked a tow bar to the jet. While doing that routine task, Kirk saw the tow bar’s attachment fitting was loose. He got it fixed. That kind of attention to detail is critical to our success. Thanks a lot, Kirk.

Four of our of our Sort Maintenance Mechanics came to the rescue when smoke started pouring out of a belt drive motor in F Building. Mike Barrett, Charlie Caldwell, Mark Keplinger, and Jim Burba kept cool, found fire extinguishers and fought the fire. They troubleshot the problem, and helped get the system back up and running with no lost time. Thanks very much, gentlemen.

Business News 

DHL
I told you last week that DHL was working on their plan for the United States, and that it would take some weeks for them to tell us what that plan is. That is still true. DHL has told us it will be late May before they reach a decision on what to do with their domestic US network. Earlier this week, Hans Hickler, DHL’s CEO of their Express operation in the US, sent a message to DHL employees about this process. 

I’ll quote part of his message here. Hans said, “Last week in Bonn, we presented our operations plan and I am pleased to tell you that it was very well received…I am also pleased to tell you that we were given some additional time to work our plans over the next few weeks to ensure our vendor negotiations and customer communications are as robust as possible for our announcement…we are still on track to announce the restructure of our network later in May.” 

Hans went on to say, “With respect to our day-to-day business, I’m encouraged to see that we continue to bring new business into our global network. It remains a difficult challenge for us as the competition continues to leverage the ambiguity that exists and until such time as we announce our network intentions, I understand this challenge can discourage our customers and potential customers.” 

Hans asked his team to focus on day-to-day performance, and I’ll ask the same of all of you. ABX Air does a great job for DHL, every single day. Keep it up. Helping DHL make money, save money, and survive this time of stress in their business helps all of us.


ANA
DHL’s struggles today highlight the reason ABX Air chooses to diversify our business across as many Customers as possible. The thought is that when some business isn’t doing well, other segments are. 

One of our other segments is ANA – our flying in Japan. May 15th marks the one-year anniversary of our Japanese flight operations. You need to know that our Japanese operations are important to us. The success we’re having in the Asian marketplace is simply fantastic, and frankly unprecedented. It makes a remarkably strong statement about your Company. In a year in Japan, we’ve done things nobody thought could be done.

• We’ve turned in exceptional flight performance. We’re flying over 300 hours a month on each aircraft in Japan, and we’re doing it with north of 98 percent reliability. To put that number in perspective for you, we’re operating about twice the number of hours a normal freight-aircraft flies, while still turning in very high reliability statistics – and we’re doing it with no spare aircraft, on the other side of the world. I don’t know another maintenance organization in the world that has turned in those kinds of numbers in those kinds of circumstances.

John Chiaffitelli and our entire maintenance team have literally worked miracles making our operation go, and my hat is off to them. 

• We are the first non-Japanese airline ever granted authority to operate out of Japan as we are. Hundreds of People helped us pass our first-ever IOSA audit by the International Air Transport Association. We passed with flying colors. 

• We are the first carrier ever granted residence visas for our pilots, maintenance technicians and their families to live in Japan. No one has ever done that before, and many thought we never would be able to. Stacia Garen, Joe Payne, Suzanne Albl and our Japanese office staff did much of the work to make that happen, and so did many of our pilots and technicians. Thank you all very much for your efforts.

• And finally, we’ve moved many ABX Air families to Japan. I lived in an international base as a Pan Am pilot years ago, so I know a little of the adventure our Japanese families have taken on. It isn’t an easy decision for a mother and father to reach, but many of our Employees have. My thanks to all of you. Without all of you we would never have succeeded. The feedback I get is that things are working out pretty well. If they aren’t, let me know.

Our Asian flying is a key part of our strategy to diversify our Company’s business portfolio, and we will work hard to keep that capability. Our pilots’ union has asked us to close our Japanese domicile, and do that flying out of Wilmington. We don’t know how to do that and economically serve our Customer’s needs. 

Our union sued in federal court, saying we didn’t follow our contract when we opened the Japanese domicile. The judge ruled that your company did comply with the contract in opening the base. That disagreement will go to arbitration, and both sides will find out how to move the base forward. 

I tell you all that background because I think it is important for us all to know that our diversification strategy is healthy, that our Japanese operation is running very well, and that our pilots’ union has real concerns about how we’ve opened the base. We’ll work with the union to satisfy those concerns, and at the end of the day we’ll all agree, or agree to disagree. 

STAR Update
Again this week we’re still working on our STAR redesign. I have not been able to approve the new program because I haven’t been able to get all our work done. As I said last week, it is taking longer than I thought it would to finish this task, and again, I apologize for the delay. 

Rumor Control
I’ve received lots of rumors to talk about this week.

Are we selling our 767s?
First, one of our pilots heard that we’re going to split our certificate and sell our 767s to ASTAR. We are not. Some months back one of our pilots’ union officials suggested that to us, but we don’t see it as a realistic option for a couple of reasons. First, you can’t split an FAA operating certificate. We run our airline business under authorization from the federal government on what is called an FAA Part 121 operating certificate. You can’t run an airline without it. The FAA doesn’t allow certificates to be “split”. We’d have to sell it, and if we did we wouldn’t have an airline any more. And second, no one is talking to us about buying aircraft or part of our airline. And in business, as in life, you never say never, but selling 767s doesn’t make economic sense. Buying that 767 fleet was one of the smartest things any airline management team ever did. I wasn’t part of the team that made that decision, but I wish I was – that is something to be proud of. Those aircraft are extremely valuable in today’s market, and we think their value only increases with time. 

Are we restricting cell phone use?
I got an email from a 20+ year sort Employee. She heard a rumor that we are going to restrict cell phone use on base. 

We are being asked to restrict cell phone use. DHL is losing millions of dollars in merchandise a year, and much of that is cell phones. Just this week we had three of our Employees arrested for theft. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, so I won't speak to particulars surrounding those arrests. However, it is true there are substantial losses in our facilities. 

I am very respectful of DHL's concerns, and we have to help stem their losses. We’re working very closely with DHL, and they are listening to our concerns. When we have a final policy, I’ll make sure we communicate it directly to you. In the meantime, if you see a crook at work, help us get rid of them. 

I will not tolerate theft in our place of business, and neither should you.

One of our pilots sent me a message worrying about our new the holding company structure. He was familiar with ATA Airlines’ shut down, and said “…its similar moves in the business world of establishing a holding company before its demise, has left me very concerned for our futures.”

I used to work for ATA Airlines, but I have not been there for some years, so I can’t speak to what happened to them. But I can tell you that ABX Air – the company we all work for – provides considerable value in the marketplace today. Our main Customer, DHL, is facing considerable strain in the US, as I said earlier, but overall, our business is a sound business. It is important to remember that the CHI companies existed in the competitive marketplace before ABX Holdings bought them. This new holding company structure didn’t bring ABX Air any new competition in the marketplace. Rather, it harnessed the economic power of those companies for Holdings, but not at the expense of ABX Air. The holding company structure will save us money at the end of the day, making us more competitive, not less. 

Another rumor is that ABX Air is moving our head quarters to North Carolina because when Fed Ex takes over we won't need our planes, so Joe Hete had to find a place to put them. Not true. I’ve no idea where that came from.

Another rumor is that the international operation is moving back to the Cincinnati Airport in Covington. I haven’t heard that one at all. It would be DHL’s decision, not ours, but nothing I hear indicates that is in the plan at all.

That’s all I have for this, our second INFOline. Please send me your rumors and questions, and I’ll do my best to get them answered. Email is the best way to do that, and my email address is john.graber at abxair.com. 

Thank you again for all you are doing for our Company. I hope you enjoy the week. And please do pay attention to the change in seasons. Stay hydrated. Stay Safe. 

Check back next Thursday after noon for the next INFOline message.

Note from John Graber, ABX Air, President:
We’ll release new INFOlines every week with the simple goal of improving communications. People complain about a lack of communication in every large organization. I’ve heard the complaints here, and will work to change things. Our business is too large for me to get out and see everyone as much as I’d like, but through this INFOline we can talk to you often. I’ll do the first few messages, and then our other executives will alternate with me, so over time you will hear from the People in charge of every part of in the company.
Some of our messages will be long, some fairly short. It will just depend on what’s going on in our business at the time. I write these INFOlines myself, but I don’t always read them word for word, so the message you hear on the phone might not always be exactly what you see on the web site. I’ll most often talk about Safety, Compliance, our People and our business. And if you’ll send me the rumors you’re hearing, I’ll talk about them too

John Graber’s INFOline - April 24, 2008

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with our first ABX Air INFOline. Today is April 24, 2008. 

We’ll release these INFOlines every week with the simple goal of improving communications. People complain about a lack of communication in every large organization. I’ve heard the complaints here, and will work to change things. Our business is too large for me to get out and see everyone as much as I’d like, but through this INFOline we can talk to you often. I’ll do the first few messages and then our other executives will alternate with me, so over time you will hear from the People in charge of every part of in the company.

Some of our messages will be long, some fairly short. It will just depend on what’s going on in our business at the time. I write these INFOlines myself, but I don’t always read them word for word, so the message you hear on the phone might not always be exactly what you see on the web site. I’ll most often talk about Safety, Compliance, our People and our business. And if you’ll send me the rumors you’re hearing, I’ll talk about them too.

Safety & Compliance

Let’s start with Safety. If you work for ABX Air, Safety must be first priority. Compliance is a very close second. Running a Safe and compliant business is the most fundamental things we do. 

Earlier this month I was in our Orlando Regional Hub. One of the things I always look for in an operation is how we drive our vehicles. A small error on a forklift or tug can cause a serious injury. I was delighted with our forklift drivers in Orlando . If you’ve been there, you know it’s a tight facility, but every driver I saw was moving deliberately, clearing their turns, and backing slowly. Nice job, Orlando . Please keep it up. 

I’ve asked our Ground department to improve its focus on Safe operations, and it is clear to me their efforts are working – we are changing how we do business. Still, I have to ask all of you to do better. If you see something that doesn’t look Safe, ask about it. Report it. Help us fix it. If you see someone doing something unsafe, stop them, and help them find a Safe way to get the job done. 

People

As President of your company, one of the best parts of my job is recognizing the great things our People do. We are DHL’s most reliable vendor, we fly great service out of Miami , and in Osaka , Japan , we’re turning in remarkable service every day, because of your hard work and dedication. Every week hundreds of you go above and beyond to help our Customers and our business. I see many of the letters of commendation you earn. I want to share some of them with you here.

Jim Rudolph earned a letter of recognition for helping turn an aircraft for the Customer in Albuquerque . Their plane had an oil leak. Jim worked the problem quickly, and found damaged threads on an engine casing. He needed a Heli-Coil, but didn’t have one. Rather than let that stop the aircraft, he went out and found one, installing it in time for the aircraft to operate on schedule. Thanks, Jim. Nice job.

Terry Sluss in our Ground Department stepped up and helped overhaul our heavyweight sorting area in D Building. He asked for input from the People who work there, and designed a logical flow that works. Things move faster there now because of Terry’s leadership and creativity. Thank you, Terry.

Chet Miller, also in ground, made a huge difference in our operation. While working flight 815, he thought two containers were tagged with the wrong weights. Each container indicated it weighed much more than it actually did – there was a total discrepancy of over three-thousand pounds. Good catch, Chet. Thank you.

And Chris Mowry has set a high standard for telecoding. On two different days he coded images every two seconds. Only one other person has been able to do that since we started telecoding images in 2005. Chris’ drive and focus is exceptional. Thank you, Chris. I want to come watch you work sometime. 

Barry Smiley designed a marking system for the noncons on the floor in F Building. Barry’s system helped shuttlers know where to deliver freight without blocking forklifts. The results of Barry’s system have been outstanding. Thank you, Barry.

A couple of other comments about our People. 

We have over 1,800 veterans here in ABX Air. And right now today, 21 fellow Employees are in the active service of our armed forces. We proudly fly a blue star service flag by Building 2 in Wilmington to commemorate the service of our coworkers.

Craig Miller, one of our flight instructors, and a 30 year ABX Air employee has two sons who have both served in Iraq. Aaron, Craig’s youngest, is back home now, recovering from combat injuries. Please keep Aaron, Craig, and all service members and their families in your thoughts. And I would like to hear from you about the service of your loved ones. I’ll share your stories with our fellow Employees.

And, we lost a long-time employee this week. Dispatcher Fred Taylor passed away from natural causes. Fred had been with us since 1989. Fred was known for his creative way of solving problems. An airplane and helicopter pilot, Fred was born in Houma, Louisiana, down in Cajun country. Please keep Fred and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Business News 

DHL

Let me talk to you about some of the things going on in our business. DHL is struggling in the US – I think everyone has heard that in the news. We are talking to senior DHL leaders about their plans for their business going forward, and the part ABX Air will play. We’ve been meeting at DHL’s US headquarters in Plantation, Florida, and even in Bonn, Germany, at their international headquarters. We are making our thoughts, ideas, and needs known to DHL at the highest levels.

DHL’s public statements indicate it is committed to the US market, despite losing millions of dollars a year here. It is clear to us that DHL is going to change its US model, but we don’t know how yet. DHL’s international network is a complex one, and they are dealing with tough issues. They won’t have answers quickly. 

It is unsettling for DHL stakeholders like us to hear that DHL isn’t making money in the US, especially when we don’t know what they’re going to do about it. I know the situation creates hundreds of rumors. What I want you to take away from this is that we have a good working relationship with DHL, and we’re talking to senior DHL leaders all the time. We’re making sure they know about the good work we do for them every day, and the value we provide DHL. Once their plans become clear, we’ll share them with you as quickly as we can. 

STAR Update

I’ve had a team working on a redesign of our STAR program. It has become clear to me that the program isn’t working as originally intended. So we’ve looked at what to change to make the system more responsive to how our operation works today. 

We intended to roll out a new program in April, but we haven’t been able to finalize all the details yet. It is taking longer than I thought it would, and I apologize for the delay. We will get the new program out to you as quickly as we can. 

Executive Change of Control Agreements

You may have heard that ABX Holdings recently issued change of control agreements to some executives – what are often called Golden Parachutes. ABX Air’s board first made the agreements in 2003 after Airborne Express sold much of the business to DHL. 

A board committee – none of whom are ABX Air Employees – instituted the change of control agreements to help incent key executives to make the best decisions for our company. Change of control agreements are considered good moves for businesses because they allow executives to make decisions that might not be good for the individual executive, but are good for the entire company. 

The agreements are back in the news now because some of our executives, Joe Hete, Quint Turner, and Joe Payne, for example, don’t JUST work for ABX Air anymore. Now they work for ABX Holdings, and the holding company replaced the old agreements. The new agreements have the same terms as the old ones. They are too long to put here, but you can read all about them in ABX Holdings’ filings with the SEC. Go to the ABX Holdings Website at abxholdings.com and click on Stocks and filings. 

Logistics Services 

As we’ve announced, DHL is taking over our Logistics Services operation in Wilmington on May 5^th. Wish all those good folks well in this transition. Some of our People are remaining with ABX Air in other departments, some are going with DHL and a few may be moving on. Our folks who built that business have a lot to be proud of – they have some of the highest Safety, Compliance and Customer satisfaction statistics in our company.

Pilots’ Union Newspaper Ads

Many of you are asking about the newspaper ads our pilots’ union is running. The Teamsters are running ads, and have established a web site called askjoehete.com. 

The Teamsters’ material clearly expresses doubt about ABX Holdings’ plan for our future. The annual shareholder’s meeting is coming up in May, and industry experts tell me the ads may have something to do with that, but of course I don’t know for certain.  

I can tell you that since I’ve been here I have had many open and frank discussions with our Teamster union leaders. I’ve been to the union hall many times. I always welcome that dialog. Union leaders have expressed very clearly to me that they thinks we erred in not selling to ASTAR last year. They’ve told me they wanted that transaction very badly. Their thinking was that selling to ASTAR is best for them and their futures. Some of our Teamsters’ leadership met with ASTAR’s CEO last summer.

Clearly, your company’s leadership team and the Teamster’s leadership team do not agree on what is best for the company. But what are the Teamsters trying to achieve with their ads? I’d recommend you ask the Teamsters Local 1224 directly. I think we do have a good plan for moving our company forward, but there is always room for an alternate point of view. You might just ask our pilots. They are good People and great Employees. They do a great job for our company every day. Ask them. See what they think.

Rumor Control

There is a rumor that the FAA grounded a bunch of our 767s. That isn’t true. The FAA has not grounded any of our aircraft. But the FAA has dramatically stepped up its oversight of airline maintenance practices, and we have had FAA inspectors here for days, pouring over our maintenance records. As part of that review, we found a 767 repair we weren’t sure we had done exactly right. Maintenance decided to do some of the work again. We told the FAA about it, but again, they never grounded even one of our aircraft, and we did not cancel a single flight. 

That’s all I have for this, our first INFOline. Please send me your rumors and questions, and I’ll do my best to get them answered. Email is the best way to do that, and my email address is john.graber at abxair.com. 

I want to thank you all for all you are doing for our Company. I hope you enjoy the week. As the weather warms up, pay attention to the change in seasons. Stay hydrated. Stay Safe. 

Check back next Thursday after noon for the next INFOline message.

(April 24-May 1 noon - 381 hits)
14,989 hits on-line as of 7/14/08, 1p (avg. 2,000 hits/week since June)
17,778 hits on-line as of 7/25/08, 4p 
18,186 hits as of 7/29/08, 10a
19,812 hits as of 8/5/08, 2p
20,209 hits as of 8/7/08, 1p

Wednesday, June 19, 2013 04:57:58 PM