2009 INFOline archive    [return to the main INFOline archive]
Scripts of the 2009 ABX Air INFOline are shown below in reverse chronological order. To view other archives, click here. To access the latest ABX Air INFOline (updated each Thursday afternoon), call (937) 366-4636 or click here.

John Graber's INFOline  |  December 31, 2009

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air Infoline for New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2009. I hope this finds everyone doing well and having a wonderful holiday.

Let me start this week by remembering the thousands of our servicemen and women deployed around the world, but especially in Afghanistan and Iraq. We live the lives we do because of their service. I always think of these Americans and their families at the holidays. Being apart is tough on a soldier all the time, but especially now. If you know a service member, look in on their family this weekend. They will appreciate that very much.

Safety
I think everyone has heard of the attempted bombing of a Northwest flight last week. The alleged bomber is from Nigeria. We routinely fly to and from Lagos, Nigeria for DHL. Though we have no indication anyone has targeted cargo aircraft in general, or our aircraft in particular, we are conducting a thorough review of our operations there. It appears we are doing everything we should be doing to ensure the Safety of our People on the ground there, and to ensure the Safety of our flight operations. If we find issues that need attention, we will deal with them quickly.

Compliance
In compliance this week, let me ask all of you to be careful in your New Year’s celebrations. New Years Eve is always a tragedy for someone – don’t let it hurt you. Follow the rules. Don’t drink and drive – and don’t let your friends and loved ones do it either. Enough said.

Pilot Severance and our new CBA
We have reached agreement on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with our pilots union. The new CBA is contingent on our also reaching a new contract with DHL, but we do have a new pilot contract. In 2008 DHL agreed to fund a pilot severance and benefit program. With the signing of the new CBA, DHL has funded the program for our pilots, and we are paying severance this week to employees who have been out of work for a long time.

Many People have worked for a long time to reach a new pilot contract. Bob Gray and Bob Boja led the effort from the company’s side. Captain Joe Muckle, First Officer Tim Jewell, Captain Rick Ziebarth, Captain Dave Ross, and First Officer John Liebenow all played key roles in their work for the union. These folks and others deserve our thanks for their countless hours of hard work.

We are working on a partial implementation of the new CBA. And while I’m talking about our pilots, I want to recognize the union’s generosity. The pilots’ union just contributed several thousand dollars to the Clinton County United Way. They made a large donation, and made it at a very difficult time for many of our airmen. When you see an ABX Air pilot, thank them for all they help do around Wilmington.

DHL Negotiations
Our discussions with DHL continued this week. We have been working with DHL for some weeks now on an agreement that will replace our current ACMI agreement when it expires next August. When we conclude negotiations, we’ll report our results to you.

Rumor Control
The rumor this week is that DHL has sold the airpark. That is not true. DHL is still negotiating with state and local officials about the airpark. They have not sold it.

Another rumor is that one of our aircraft, N312AA has been sold. That is not true. We lease 312 – and other aircraft – from ATSG’s CAM subsidiary. Nothing has changed regarding the ownership of the aircraft, or our lease of it.

That is all the news I have for this week. I wish all of you a Safe and peaceful New Year. If you have any questions or comments, or you need any help at all, drop me a note. My email address is john.graber@abxair.com.

John Graber's INFOline  |  December 24, 2009

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air Infoline for Christmas Eve, December 24, 2009. I hope this finds everyone doing well and having a wonderful holiday.

Safety
In Safety this week, I am proud to be able to applaud the efforts of the leadership teams in our Postal centers. Our Memphis, Dallas and Indianapolis teams have made great strides forward in Safe operations. These three facilities are the only sort activities left in our company, and they have greatly improved their Safety performance in the past few months. As our 2009 peak operations wind down tonight, it is more than appropriate to thank everyone in our STC operations for your attention to Safety – and operational excellence. Thank you all for all you do for our company and our Customers.

Compliance
This winter marks our first one away from our own hub operations in Wilmington, and our first without our own organic deice personnel. Compliance in deicing is simply critical. DHL is using our FAA approved program in CVG, of course, and using their own personnel, supplemented by contract deicers from ASIG. Our Manager of Deice Operations, Kent Stewart, is well known to everyone during deice operations, and Kent is overseeing our deice operations in CVG. Things are running smoothly, and I’d ask everyone involved in to maintain your vigilance and keep them running that way.

DHL Negotiations
Our discussions with DHL continue. The feedback I get from everyone is that they want to know more about what is happening in our talks. It isn’t appropriate to comment beyond telling you that DHL and ABX are working closely together, and talking often. When we conclude our negotiations, we’ll report our results to you.

Rumor Control
The rumor this week was that we are investing heavily in our 767 simulator so we can sell it. That isn’t true. But I can see a couple of facts that someone could weave into that kind of rumor. We are upgrading the flight management computers in the simulator to align them with those used in our freighter fleet. And the CEO of a simulator company in Miami came to visit recently, wanting to sell us simulator time down there. We field inquiries about all our simulators from time to time, but we have no plans to sell our 767.

That is all the news I have for this week. If you have any questions or comments, or you need any help at all, drop me a note. My email address is john.graber@abxair.com. 

John Graber's INFOline  |  December 10, 2009

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air Infoline for December 10, 2009. I hope this finds everyone doing well and staying warm.

Safety
With winter upon us in Ohio, please make sure you are ready to work Safely in the cold. We’re not running the Wilmington ramp operation, so we don’t have those risks this year, but everyone has to come to work in the weather. Make sure you slow down and get here Safely. And for our flight crews, this will be our first winter operating at the CVG hub. When the snow falls, things are going to be different. Give yourself the time you need to adjust to the conditions on the CVG ramp. If you are a mechanic at one of our northern cities – winter means its time to make sure you are Safe. If we all pay attention, we can get through the winter in good shape.

Compliance
In compliance this week, I need your help. Here in Wilmington, we have an issue with people going into closed buildings. Don’t do that. There is no reason for anyone to be exploring our closed facilities. We find lights on and doors open. That wastes money and causes extra work for our maintenance department - and it is dangerous. If you are alone in a building and you hurt yourself, it could be a long time before we find you. Please don’t go poking around in places you don’t belong.

DHL Negotiations
We are still working with DHL to define what happens after our AMCI agreement expires next August. As you know, Joe Hete, Quint Turner and I met with DHL in Bonn, Germany last month. We met again this month in Miami, and our meetings are continuing. When they conclude, we’ll report our results to you.

TNT Flying
You’ve heard me talk for years about the importance of our diversifying into ACMI charter flying. We have enjoyed some success in the ACMI marketplace – but today I have a different outcome to report to you. We have given TNT notice that we will stop flying from New York City across the Atlantic Ocean for them. We’ve been supporting the TNT network and other customers on that route through a block space agreement, or BSA. BSAs lower customers’ costs by allowing several shippers to share a freighter’s capacity. We started this flying intending to use TNT as the foundation to grow our business both across the Atlantic, and in Europe. Our efforts have not worked for us for several reasons. First, the economy has reduced demand for lift across the Atlantic, pressuring freight rates, and reducing our revenue. And second, our crew costs have been much higher than they should have been. This doesn’t mean the end of our ACMI business, of course. We fly a lot of ACMI business, but we can’t fly if we aren’t going to make money, and that’s what has happened here.

Management Surveys
If you’re a member of our leadership team, please complete our management survey. You’ll have an email in your Inbox asking for your participation. Hearing what our leadership team thinks is always important – but especially so now, given all the changes we’ve put our business through. Take the survey, take the time to make the comments you think are important, and tell us what we need to know. Thank you.

Tuition Reimbursement for 2010
We are not going to be able to extend our Tuition Reimbursement Program in 2010. The economic environment we face requires that we watch what we spend very carefully, and continuing the program into the New Year is not prudent. We will honor the commitments we made for your pre-approved classes completed prior to Dec. 31, 2009.

That is all the news I have for this week. If you have any questions or comments, or you need any help at all, drop me a note. My email address is john.graber@abxair.com.

John Graber's INFOline  |  November 26, 2009

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air INFOline for Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 2009. I hope this finds everyone doing well and having a good holiday.

Safety
In Safety, we’ve now had exposure to the flu in our workplace in Wilmington, and I want to remind everyone to take the appropriate steps to protect yourself and those around you. Take the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Wash your hands with warm water and soap, and do that often; cover your mouth when you cough, and get a flu vaccine. We are making hand sanitizer available everywhere in our system. If you need it, use it. And if you do get the flu, stay home and take care of yourself.

DHL Negotiations
Joe Hete, Quint Turner, and I went to Bonn, Germany recently to meet with senior DHL leaders. We discussed what will happen after our ACMI agreement expires next August. We met for two full days in Germany, and DHL sent some of their folks to Wilmington this week, where we’ve continued talks. I understand there are a lot of rumors swirling about all this. Part of my job is to dispel rumors, but all I can say today, is that it isn’t appropriate to say more about where we are, except that DHL and ABX Air are meeting. We are talking about what follows when our ACMI agreement ends. As soon as we have something more to report, we’ll tell you. In the meantime, don’t listen to the rumors. It does no good.

Shoes in Lagos
ABX Air has done a lot of good in Nigeria. Many of you donated boots and shoes for the folks who work our flights in Lagos. We delivered those shoes Monday, November 9th. The Nigerian recipients were very appreciative and wanted to make sure everyone here heard their thanks. Our John Chiaffitelli and Fasiel Flash played a big part in getting the shoes delivered.

Thanksgiving
On this Thanksgiving Day, I want to thank all of you for all you’ve done for our company and each other this year. For all the problems we’ve had to face, the fact of the matter is that ABX Air is still here, and poised to grow. We could not do that without the hard work, dedication and professionalism of our people. Thank you for all you do, and for the way you do it. I wish all of you and your families all the best.

Rumor Control
In rumor control this week is the rumor that DHL has asked us to dedicate all our freighters to DHL flying. That rumor is not true. DHL is interested in transitioning to an all freighter fleet – one without PC aircraft – as soon as possible.

That is all the news I have for this week. If you have any questions or comments, or you need any help at all, drop me a note. My email address is john.graber@abxair.com.

John Starkovich's INFOline  |  November 19, 2009

Good afternoon. This is John Starkovich, Vice President of Human Resources with the INFOline for November 19, 2009.

ATSG Third Quarter 2009 Financial Results
Last Friday, ATSG announced its financial results for the 3rd quarter with revenues of $174.2 million and pre-tax earnings of $4.6 million from continuing operations. Consolidated net earnings were $3.7 million for the 3rd quarter. For the first 9 months of 2009, revenues totaled $573 million and net earnings from continuing operations were $17.9 million. This compares to revenue of $684.7 million for the same period in 2008 with net earnings of $6.3 million.

Pilot Negotiations
On Tuesday, November 17, 2009, the APA Teamsters Local 1224 advised that the Tentative Collective Bargaining Agreement reached on November 5th was ratified by the pilots. The ratification was an essential step in forging a new commercial agreement with our largest customer DHL. As you all know, ABX was notified by DHL that it did not intend to renew the currently effective acmi agreement beyond August 15, 2010.

The new collective bargaining agreement is contingent upon certain assurances and commitments from DHL that are required for both the union and ABX Air prior to being able to sign the agreement even though it has completed the union required step of ratification by the pilot group.

Open Enrollment for Health Care Benefits
Many people are asking about the annual benefits open enrollment. Plans are in the process of being finalized for the 2010 benefits program. The annual enrollment period is expected to open soon. Open enrollment materials will be mailed to your home address as soon as they are available.

Reminders

• Please keep out of unoccupied and closed buildings on the airport property. Express authorization to enter closed buildings must be obtained from Gary Stover, VP of AEFS and arrangements can then be made for you to be accompanied by AEFS personnel. There are no exceptions to this directive and appropriate steps will be taken for any non-compliance.

• We are asking everyone to be cooperative and patient when going through the security check points on base. Security guards are acting upon instructions. Failure to cooperate and to follow established procedure may result in local law enforcement being called in. If you are being asked by Security to do something that you feel to be inappropriate, please remain courteous and request that a supervisor be called &/or the ABX Corporate Security Manager. You can also comply and report the incident and circumstances to your own supervisor for follow up action. Confrontation and/or ignoring the directives of Security is simply unacceptable. Safety and security is important and your compliance is required.

• The Fall Charity Drive continues. Your participation and generosity to others that are less fortunate and in need is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

That is all for this week. On behalf of all of us on the ABX leadership team, please accept our best wishes for a safe and Happy Thanksgiving. We are thankful for each of you and all that you do for one another and for ABX. Take care.

John Starkovich's INFOline  |  November 12, 2009

Good afternoon. This is John Starkovich, Vice President of Human Resources, with the INFOline for November 12, 2009.

Pilot Negotiations
Last Thursday night/Friday morning, negotiators for ABX Air and the Teamsters Local 1224 reached a tentative agreement on an amended collective bargaining agreement and the allocation of severance/furlough funds for flight crewmembers hit by the DHL restructuring. The terms of the agreement are currently out for a ratification vote by the pilots and the final results are expected on Nov. 18, 2009. In addition to the ratification vote, the agreement is contingent upon certain assurances and commitments from DHL that are required for both the union and ABX Air prior to being able to sign the agreement should it be ratified by the pilots.

An extraordinary amount of time and effort has been spent the last two months as the parties worked through some very difficult issues in arriving at an agreement that will help ABX be more competitive in the marketplace. Many people have been involved during the course of the negotiations and we appreciate all that has been done. Special thanks go to Bob Gray and Bob Boja who, in addition to their other duties, took the lead in working with the 1224 negotiating team to bring the discussions to this point.

ILN Airport
Currently many buildings on the airport are no longer occupied. Many buildings have been closed. This is a reminder to everyone to stay out of these buildings. This is for safety and business reasons as well as just plain common sense. With work no longer being performed in these buildings, there is no reason for anyone to be in them and under no circumstances should anything be removed from any of these buildings.

Should you or anyone in your respective departments feel that there is a legitimate business reason to go inside any of these buildings, express authorization must be obtained from Gary Stover, Vice President of AEFS and arrangements can be made for you to be accompanied by AEFS personnel. There are no exceptions, and appropriate steps will be taken for any violations of this directive.

Security
We are asking everyone to be cooperative and patient when going through the security check points on base. Security guards are acting upon instructions and directions that they have been given to follow and are doing their jobs. Being courteous to one another is necessary even when being requested to do something that we may feel to be burdensome.

Fall Charity Drive
Just a reminder. There is still time to participate in the Fall Charity Drive. There is no amount that is too small when given to others in need during this holiday season and throughout the year. It can be done with a one-time contribution or by payroll deduction. Thank you to those that are already contributing or have signed up to do so.

ABX Workforce Downsizing
Regrettably, earlier this week over 50 ABX employees were notified that their positions at ABX were being eliminated. As ABX continues to deal with the restructuring that has occurred at its largest customer, DHL, and the current economic conditions, it became evident that further adjustments were needed here at ABX as well. Those notified were given a December 31 termination date.

Cafeteria
For many years, the ABX employees have enjoyed having AVI provide on-base facilities for a hot lunch with a variety of menu items beyond vending machine fare. Please consider using the cafeteria when you decide to buy lunch. Absent having enough customers, we could lose AVI and the convenience of a lunch facility on site.

That is all for this week. Take care.

Scott Glasser's INFOline  |  November 3, 2009

Hello. This is Scott Glasser, Vice President of Business Development, and this is the INFOline update for Nov. 3, 2009. In this update I will address the non-DHL business.

John Graber's INFOline  |  October 29, 2009

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air Infoline for October 29, 2009. I hope you are all doing well.

Safety
Fall weather is upon us now, and we’ve had several days of rainy weather. The good news – and that’s all I have – is that we’ve made it through the rain without injury or incident. That is a good job, and I thank you all for the hard work it takes to run our company Safely during times of inclement weather.

Pilot Negotiations
Your company and our pilots’ union have been at the negotiating for over a month, hammering out the final details of a new contract. Everyone hears the rumors that we are very close to a deal. I think that is true, and I think the work everyone is doing here at the tail of the process is important, and difficult. Everyone at the table is working in good faith to reach a deal, and when they do, we will report that agreement as quickly as possible.

UPS Results
UPS reported its third-quarter results last week. I mention that here because UPS is the largest express operator in the country. Last quarter their revenues fell 15%. Their operating profit was down 43%. UPS said their average daily package volumes – air and ground – fell 5%. Analysts said UPS’ results reflect the ongoing weakness in our economy.

Beth Huber
Tomorrow is Beth Huber’s last day with ABX Air. Beth’s been here over two decades, and is leaving from her role as our leader of community affairs. We have said goodbye to many, many good People over the last 18 months. You all know that. I want to note Beth’s leaving because she has been a tremendous help to me in my time here. Restructuring our company has been a very hard job, and a huge part of that job has been getting the right thing said the right way at the right time. Much of the credit for our being able to do that goes to Beth. She has been an honest, unyielding, advocate for our People and our company. She has steered us in the right direction time and again. And she will be missed. If you see Beth around town, please wish her well.

That is all the news I have for this week. If you have any questions or comments, or you need any help at all, drop me a note. My email address is john.graber@abxair.com. 

Bob Gray's INFOline  |  October 22, 2009

This is Bob Gray, Vice President of Safety, Compliance, and Government Affairs for the October 22, 2009 ABX INFOline.

In early October, ABX Air successfully completed a comprehensive audit conducted by SH&E to retain its standing on the IOSA, or International Airline Transport Association Safety Audit Registry. The International Airline Transport Association (IATA) represents some 230 airlines in over 120 countries from around the globe. Carrying ninety-three percent of the world’s international scheduled traffic, IATA members include the world’s leading passenger and cargo airlines. The IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) has become the benchmark for global safety management in airlines The IOSA standards incorporate many requirements from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the FAA, and other regulatory agencies throughout the world, as well as best practices from the top airline audit programs in existence today. The audit areas included Organization, Flight, Operational Control and Dispatch, Aircraft Engineering and Maintenance, Cabin Operations, Aircraft Ground Handling, Cargo, and Operational Security.

We continue to work with our Postal Hub management to provide a safe working environment for those hub employees. Most recently we have worked to modify the OSHA required Monthly Safety Training to more closely fit the exposures at the Postal Hubs. In addition, three new Safety Training Bulletins have been developed on the safety exposures related to the Postal Containers. Existing employees have been trained with these, and these will be used with any new employees to make sure they understand the hazards associated with these containers.

From an environmental perspective, our Recycling Program is being restarted. We're starting the collection and recycling of paper and cardboard.

The CVG Operation continues to improve. It is important that all of you currently involved in the CVG operation provide your input regarding any issues that you feel need to be addressed. DHL has been very responsive at addressing operational concerns that arise.

The Company and the Pilot’s Union continue to meet his week in order to hopefully finalize a Collective Bargaining Agreement. The emphasis has shifted this week from negotiating the terms of the contract, to agreeing on the actual language that reflects those terms and that will appear in the CBA. This is an important part of any negotiations so that future debates and disagreements regarding the intent of language can be minimized. The discussions have been very positive and constructive.

That’s all the information I have to share with you this week. Thank you for you hard work and dedication to make our Company successful.

John Graber's INFOline  |  October 15, 2009

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air INFOline for October 15, 2009. I hope you are all doing well.

Safety
I’m sure you’ve heard all about the H1N1 flu this year. There is a lot of information – and misinformation – out about the flu, and how to avoid it. We’re taking precautions at ABX Air. We’re taking the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and you will find our recommendations to protect yourself from illness during this flu season on our web site. The best things you can do are all common sense – wash hands with warm water and soap, and do that often; cover your mouth when you cough, and get a flu vaccine. We are making hand sanitizer available everywhere in our system. If you need it, use it. And if you do get the flu, stay home and take care of yourself. Don’t make your co-workers sick. There is much more information about the H1N1 flu available at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. It is www.cdc.gov. 

Compliance
In compliance, you’ve heard me talk about how important it is to follow the rules. Well, we recently got a letter from the Federal Aviation Administration telling us we did just that. The letter referred to a maintenance issue the FAA was investigating from several years ago. An FAA inspector had alleged that we had broken FAA rules in making a repair, and the FAA investigated the situation. We cooperated with them fully. In their recent letter, the FAA, told us we had not done anything wrong. I always welcome outside scrutiny of our operation. I think it is a good way to see where we’re doing well, and where we can do better. In this case, the FAA dug deep into our processes, and found we had done exactly what we were supposed to.

Pilot Negotiations
We were scheduled to meet in Washington D.C. this week in front of our federal mediator for another round of pilot negotiations. However, both sides felt they could make good progress without the mediator’s help. So we spent time at the table without the mediator, working on the issues that remain. I want to thank the folks on both sides of the table. Getting quickly through these negotiations is very important, and I appreciate the work everyone is doing.

ABX Air Business Update
On the ABX Air front, our DHL flight operations in Cincinnati are going well. Our Customer there is working hard to stabilize its US network after last summer’s move, and indications are their efforts are paying off. We continue to provide exemplary service to DHL, running at 100% on time most nights. If you are part of that effort, please keep up the good work. It is very important.

Air Cargo Trends
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released August results for international air traffic. IATA said freight traffic was down 18.0% year-over-year. That lower traffic volume has been accompanied by lower yields, which means not only are carriers hauling less freight, but they are getting lower prices for the freight they do carry. Making matters worse, fuel prices have risen from their lows earlier in the year. IATA says this combination of factors produces a grim profit picture, and IATA believes the global airline industry will incur an $11 billion loss this year, on top of a $16.8 billion loss last year.

That is the world we’re flying our charter services in, so you can see how important it is that we provide the best, most reliable product at the lowest possible price. That is how you win in the ACMI freight world.

That is all the news I have for this week. If you have any questions or comments, or you need any help at all, drop me a note. My email address is john.graber@abxair.com.

Scott Glasser's INFOline  |  October 8, 2009

Script unavailable.

John Graber's INFOline  |  October 1, 2009

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air INFOline for October 1, 2009. We had our first frost warning last night in Wilmington. I hope you are all ready for the cool weather.

Safety
Do remember the hazards associated with cool weather. I talked about this in my last message, but it is very important. Plan ahead. Make sure you have the time you need to do your job Safely as the weather changes.

Compliance
In compliance, I want to congratulate our sister company, AMES. I was touring their Base Shops facility today with a potential business partner and noticed Base Shops’ "Time Lost Since the Last Injury" sign. That is a good statistic, and a better one when you consider that their business changed entirely in May. Compliance with procedure is a key component of building a solid Safety record. We’re one of AMES’ largest Customers, so their compliance record is important to me. It was good to see them doing what they’re supposed to. As you work here at ABX Air, make sure you’re doing the same thing.

ABX Air Business Update
For months you’ve heard me tell you that ABX Air has to get its costs in line with the marketplace if we are going to succeed as an ACMI carrier. Hundreds of you have played important roles in our work to restructure our company. You’ve redesigned your workflow, consolidated, cut the amount of work we do, and felt the impact of more work and less pay.

In the last sixteen months we’ve reduced our costs almost everywhere. We’ve lowered the cost of our executive team by eliminating Senior Vice President roles, cutting the number of executives we have, and lowering executive pay. We’ve reduced our costs in aircraft maintenance, in flight operations management, in ground operations, and in our administrative organizations. We’ve reduced our material and inventory and our physical footprint.

One of our most remarkable changes was in our Air Park Services Department. That organization has transformed itself from an ABX Air department of over 1,000 People into a profitable new business of less than a hundred. ABX Equipment and Facility Services – AEFS as the new business is known – has a growing Customer base and formidable internet presence. They’re competing and winning business all across the country.

Our charter airline operations, our largest business segment, has not enjoyed the successes of our other endeavors. The worldwide economy is pressuring every ACMI freight operator, but it is especially impacting us, because we have the highest cockpit crew costs of any ACMI carrier in the world. And though we’ve spent the past 16 months completely changing every other element of ABX Air’s cost structure, we have yet to change our pilot costs.

Joe Hete has been at the table for over ten days of meetings with our pilots union, working directly to reach agreement on a contract that allows us to compete in the marketplace. We’re working with a real sense of urgency because DHL is in its window to decide how it is going to fly its freight after our contract with them expires next August. Recently Joe, Quint Turner and I met with senior DHL leaders. DHL is concerned ABX Air won’t be able to give them a competitive price for our services going forward because of our high pilot costs – and if they can’t afford to fly with us, they understand they have to find another provider very soon. These senior DHL leaders say they want to use us, but that they cannot afford us at our current flight crew costs.

We hope to reach agreement with our pilots union very soon, and we need to.

The Forest and the Trees
I attended the Cargo Facts annual conference in Seattle. Over 100 operators, Customers, and manufacturers gathered for several days of discussions. And this week all of ATSG’s business leaders came together with ATSG’s board. We spent hours reviewing how ATSG’s companies are faring in today’s marketplace, and to work on how we can all do better. These meetings provided me the opportunity to talk with air cargo experts, and competitors – and thinking about how we’re doing in the marketplace.

What I gathered from my meetings and discussions with experts from all over the world and from within ATSG, is that we’re on the right path at ABX Air. It is clear we have to compete on price in the marketplace. All our major competitors offer service of a similar quality – they must be considered for any job – so we have to compete on price. In spite of the horrible economic environment, it is also clear that most of our competitors are surviving. Some have failed, to be sure, but every one of the others is surviving because they’ve found a way to exploit some element of the marketplace and run their business at lower costs. And it is crystal clear to me that competitors are accelerating their ability to meet the changing demands of the marketplace. Where track charters were once the rule, our competitors are moving to the ad hoc arena – and making money there. Lastly, it is easy to see the difference between our competitors who are focused on their Customers, and our competitors who are not. Those with a Customer focus are winning business today. The others are losing business.

All those things – lower price, the ability to be a fierce competitor, the ability to change quickly and focus on our Customers –are the things we’re trying to do here today. They are the attributes that will make us successful. Conversely, our inability to compete in these key attributes will define our failure.

Think about these things, and help us succeed every day.

AMES Vacancies
AMES has openings for about 100 People. They are looking for skilled technicians and support staff, so if you know someone who is looking for a job, tell them to go to the AMES web site to see the specific opportunities.

That is all the news I have for this week.  If you have any questions or comments, or you need any help at all, drop me a note. My email address is john.graber@abxair.com.

Jennifer Miesse's Infoline  |  September 24, 2009

Hello, this is Jennifer Miesse from Human Resources with the ABX Air INFOline for September 24, 2009.

Safety
Let’s begin with Health and Safety. ABX Air is putting together a response plan in case this season's flu outbreak is more severe than usual, but there are things you can do right now to help protect yourself and others.

1. The first step in prevention is to practice good hygiene. That means cover your coughs and sneezes; wash your hands frequently using soap and hot water or hand sanitizer; periodically wipe down your workspace with Clorox type wipes (especially in shared work spaces); and last but not least, take care of yourself. Make sure you get plenty of rest, exercise, and eat healthy foods.

2. The second step is to recognize the flu symptoms. These include high fever (over 100 degrees Fahrenheit) or chills, AND cough or sore throat. Other symptoms may include: runny nose, body aches, headache, tiredness, diarrhea, or vomiting.

3. And lastly, don’t spread the flu. If you are sick with flu-like illness, stay home and take care of yourself. We recommend you stay home for 24 hours after your temperature is normal.

We will provide flu shots soon at the Healthcare Center, or you may contact your preferred health care provider. Watch the Communication Centers, MyABX.com, and this INFOline for more information about our efforts to keep everyone healthy this flu season.

Customer News
I have several pieces of good news to pass along related to our charter customers.

First of all, I'm pleased to announce that ABX received a renewed contract to continue our participation in the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF). This allows us to keep providing international airlift for the U.S. military, a responsibility we are proud to undertake.

Secondly, ABX Air recently flew over a thousand live fish from Barbados to England, in what may be the largest shipment of live fish ever flown into the United Kingdom. The trip was chartered by Britain's National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth. This success is another great example of how ABX Air can excel by matching our expertise with the needs of the marketplace.

Thank you to everyone involved in keeping these customers happy.

Pilot Negotiation Update
Joe Hete met with union officials in DC again this week on Monday and Tuesday. Both parties are working hard to complete the collective bargaining agreement. While no agreement was reached, progress was made.

On Monday, we also held the third Pilot Information Conference Call. During this call, hosted by John Graber, negotiation and company updates were presented and pilots were given the opportunity to ask questions. Select questions sent in by email were also discussed. These calls and the pilot information web site have been excellent sources of information on the status of our pilot negotiations. A transcript and recording of all three conference calls are available at www.abxpilotinfo.com, along with the latest company proposals to the Union.

We look forward to additional calls and web updates in the next few weeks.

That is all the news that I have for this week. John Graber will be back on next week’s INFOline. Thanks and take care!

John Graber's Infoline  |  July 30, 2009

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air Infoline for July 30, 2009.  

Safety
We have about 200 People working in CVG every night for awhile. That is a new environment for us, with new processes and new procedures. Please make sure you know how things work, and follow DHL’s procedures in operating there. Be Safe in everything you do.  We have ABX Air leadership on site every night to help you with any issues you’re having. Work with them and make sure we’re taking care of you in the new operation.

Compliance
As the new CVG operation starts, there are hundreds of questions about how things work there.  We’re finding communication to be a real struggle. After decades of being able to go out to the ramp and solve a problem, flight and maintenance operations are adjusting to running our DHL hub based network through a telephone connection.

If you find an issue you don’t understand in the new operation, remember, you do not have to guess at anything.  Ask your supervisor for help and information. Work through the issue until you are satisfied you have the right answer.  We are much better off taking a delay and knowing we are compliant, than guessing about something and making a mistake.

Last night we had a crew notice a problem on the paperwork for a Haz shipment. When we checked into it, we found a problem and bumped the freight. That was exactly the right call.  Nice job.

Wilmington’s Last Operation
A week ago tonight we operated our last Wilmington sort. Toward the end of the operation about 400 of us gathered at the end of F Building to watch ABX Air’s last revenue flight – flight 552 – leave Wilmington.  We had sorters, accountants, executives, dispatchers, pilots, mechanics, Air Park folks – I saw someone from almost every work group there for the last departure.  

There was the full spectrum of emotion in the group. Some cheered, some stood quietly – there were tears and hugs, and some even applauded.  Like the last 14 months, that last night was a difficult time.  

But weeks ago Jan Woolums and her Ground Department, and Gary Stover and his Air Park Services department, and Jennifer Miesse and her Employee Relations Department, had decided that at the end of our operations we had something to celebrate as much as we had something to mourn. So they put together a huge carry in the week before our last flight. Hundreds of People came from every department. They had music, they gave away prizes, and they had fun. Then they organized smaller carry ins during our last week, so everyone could gather in their own groups to honor the occasion in their own way. We handed out commemorative t-shirts to mark the last operation.  

I got to attend almost every event, and in those last two weeks I talked to hundreds of you. Like every ABX Air carry in, we ate, told stories, took pictures, and laughed. But this time we were sentimental. This time we watched the Night Moves movie Ground had put together. This time we made sure we got email addresses and phone numbers, and this time we made sure we got to tell our friends how much we appreciated all the years together, and all we’d shared. I don’t have the years here most of you do, and I very much appreciate your bringing me into the fold and sharing your stories.

There is so much wrong when an organization like ours with the amazing people we have goes through what we’ve all gone through.  Many of our friends have serious, life-changing problems to work through as they face the end of one career and the uncertainty of what comes next, making it all the more remarkable how ABX Air’s People rallied together in the last two weeks. We were able to celebrate the things that have made this such a great place to work. I heard it over and over from so many of you – that in spite of all the bad things associated with the end of huge parts of our company, you were celebrating the friendships you made here, the time you had with your coworkers, and the wonderful place ABX Air has been for you.

You are truly an impressive group of People, and you have much to be proud of.

If you have had to leave ABX Air, let me thank you again for all you have done for our company over the years. Make sure you are getting the support you need and everything you have coming to you as you transition away. If you are not, let me know.  

If you are one of our People who are still working here, let me thank you for all you are doing for us every day. You face huge change and difficult times. We are still worked toward building a durable ABX Air. We have a lot of work yet to do, but we have not quit, and we will not quit.  

That is all the news I have for this week.  If you have any questions or comments, or you need any help at all, drop me a note.  My email address is john.graber@abxair.com.

John Graber's Infoline  |  July 23, 2009

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.

Tammy Voss' Infoline  |  May 21, 2009

Hello, this is Tammy Voss with the ABX Air INFOline for May 21, 2009.

Safety
Now more than ever it is important that we focus on Safety. Each day we are challenged by the flurry of activity and, for many of us, new job responsibilities. We cannot allow these challenges to distract us. We must continue to make Safety a priority.

Compliance
For the past six months, Greg Gear's ramp group has achieved 100 percent on their quality audits. These are fantastic results, and we appreciate the attention to detail and the hard work it took to achieve them. Congratulations!

Please Note
On Tuesday, May 26, the Wilmington Police Department will be on site at the air park for a training exercise from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The training exercise will occur inside D Building around the D17 area. Employees should remain away from the area until the exercise is completed. The exercise will include the use of authentic-looking weapons that fire non-lethal pellets, so do not be alarmed if you see them in the area.

Air Park Transition Center
Fidelity Investments workshops will be held on Friday, May 29 at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. in Building 2 in Wilmington. Please contact the Air Park Transition Center at (937) 366-2004 to sign up. The workshop, Deciding What to Do With Your Retirement Plan Assets, is provided at no charge as part of the Air Park Transition Center. Spouses are welcome and encouraged to attend. Please let us know if there will be two people attending when you sign up.

DHL Update
We'd like to update you on the status of the DHL operations. Our ABX management team continues to work with DHL to explore how we can serve them in their new US strategy. On Sunday, May 18, we began operating the DHL 767 Brussels, Belgium to Lagos, Nigeria flight. Terry Wilkin (ABX Loss Prevention), John Vestal (System Chief Pilot), and Steve 'Bubba' Page (Line Pilot), conducted an on-site security review in Nigeria in preparation for the new operation. We would like to thank everyone who have worked so hard to make this operation a success.

As previously discussed, DHL plans to begin operations at CVG on July 24. In preparation, DHL began training its new employees at Wilmington on May 18. ABX is currently operating two buses from CVG to ILN each night. ABX and DHL have relocated approximately 349 pieces of ground support equipment to CVG.

DHL continues to focus on filling over 800 positions. Interviews will be conducted at CVG through June 23. Positions being filled are international service agents, part-time package handlers, and full-time ramp positions. Benefits include medical, vision, dental, life insurance, 401(k), pension, short- and long-term disability, paid time off, tuition assistance and employee discounts.

As always, our ABX leadership is focused on minimizing the impact and hardships to all ABX employees. We thank you for your time and all that you do for our company.

John Graber will be back with an update to the INFOline next Thursday.

John Graber's Infoline  |  May 14, 2009

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air INFOline for May 14, 2009.

Safety
Starting with Safety this morning, I am proud to congratulate several areas for excellent performance. Our Primary, Secondary, Letters, Reloads and Transportation areas all reported no lost time incidents in April. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to turn in that kind of performance, and take such good care of each other.

It is important to remember that when we talk about lost time, we’re talking about hurting our People-–and when we go a month without someone getting hurt at work, that really is something to be proud of. Let’s make it two months.

We are pushing everyone to abide by the crosswalks on our taxiway. For years now many of you have walked across our ramps wherever you wanted. I need you to change your ways and stay in the crosswalks. We have new airlines operating here now–-and with new airlines come new crewmembers. That raises the chance that a pilot won’t see someone on the ground. Keeping to the crosswalks will keep you Safe.

Compliance
I am happy to report that A and F reloads, and our Autosort Primary and Secondary areas turned in perfect 100 percent scores on their second quarter Quality Audits. What great work that is. Thank you.

As I talk about compliance, I do have to tell you that I am still not satisfied with our performance on our ILN ramp. I still see people driving too fast, and moving out of drive lanes when they don’t have to. Slow down, and drive your vehicles in the lanes. Our procedures are there for a reason--compliance is not optional. When you drive one of our vehicles on our ramp, you follow our procedures.

DHL Update
DHL is moving its hub operation from Wilmington to Cincinnati. We’ve known that for a few weeks now, and received official notification from DHL this week.

Today we briefed the ABX Air leadership team on the transition schedule as we understand it. Your managers will cover everything with you in the next day or so, but I’ll hit some of the high points here.

Keep in mind that we’re over 60 days away from the move, so things can change a lot. We’ll tell you those changes as we know them.

To start with, DHL is interviewing in Cincinnati until June 23. Ask your manager for the specific schedule. DHL has recruited in Wilmington twice. If you missed one of those events, your best bet now is to interview in Cincinnati.

DHL has hired some number of new employees in CVG, and is going to start training them here in Wilmington starting Monday, May 18. When you see these new people, treat them well. Remember, none of these new people have anything to do with DHL leaving us. They’re just trying to work for a living. You need to treat them the way you would want to be treated if you were in their shoes. The fact of the matter is that we want DHL to succeed in its business, and for DHL to succeed, these new people have to succeed. Help them do that.

At some point in July, DHL will move its Sunday operations to CVG as a way to practice and test the new sort. They’ll need some of our People to work down there on a couple of Sundays. We’ll ask for volunteers, and pay them for the bus ride down and the time they work. This schedule means we won’t work on some Sundays in Wilmington. That has an impact on lots of things in our operation. Look to your leaders for more information.

We’ve asked People to commit to being available to work in August. DHL will pay our People who commit to being here in August four weeks retention, whether they work or not. If you want that retention, sign up before the 15th, and be available to work in August. We are still working through lots of details about how this will work and we’ll get specific information to you as soon as we know it.

Appel Meeting
Joe Hete and I met with Deutsche Post DHL’s CEO, Frank Appel, and DHL’s CEO, Ken Allen, this week. We had a wide-ranging discussion. We spent time making sure Frank understood how much good work ABX Air has done for DHL, and that ABX Air stands ready to work with DHL today and in the future. DHL has yet to share its long-term plans with us. Obviously we want to be a part of those plans if we can.

AMES Progress
Our sister company, Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services, opened May 4 on schedule. ABX Air transferred our FAR § 145 certificate to AMES. Hitting a start date on the money is a huge accomplishment. When you see someone who was involved in standing up AMES, thank them for their hard work.

Less than two weeks in business, and AMES is on pace to deliver its first heavy check aircraft next week--ahead of schedule. A company’s first delivery is always significant, and this one especially so because AMES’ first aircraft is a 757--the first 75 heavy check ever in Wilmington. That will make it a lot easier for AMES to get a second one.

Rumors
I don’t have any rumors to talk about this week, and that is all the news I have today. Tammy Voss will update the INFOline 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.

Mike Gerdes' Infoline  |  May 7, 2009

This is Mike Gerdes, Vice President of Flight Operations, with the ABX Air INFOline for May 7, 2009.

Safety
Congratulations for some outstanding results from Scott Cloud's ramp folks. They have been at a score 100 percent since the start of the year. That’s all of the first quarter and the second quarter to date. Thanks to all of you for your efforts and well done.

This week, the Safety Department ran a drill of our Emergency Response Program. In this drill, a mock accident was developed and, without any advanced notice, the emergency response plan was activated. This is done to test our system to ensure the required personnel are notified and our response plan is put in place quickly and efficiently. This plan generally is used for an aircraft incident or accident. The reports from the drill were very good. There are always a few areas for improvement, so we are all working on revising our procedures as required.

Flight Operations had a meeting with the Pilots Union Safety Committee two weeks ago. It was an informative meeting, and we all learned something. One item really hit home with me that applies to everyone. If you see a safety problem, please report it. Use any means available, but don’t assume it will be taken care of or that someone else will report it. Take the time and report the situation or issue. If it is not fixed, report it again. We take all issues seriously, but we need your help to identify the problems and to make sure the solutions put in place are working. I’d like to thank the Union Committee for meeting with us, and their commitment to meet with us on a regular basis to make sure all safety related items are addressed in a timely manner.

DHL
As announced a few weeks ago, DHL intends to move their operation from ILN to CVG in July or August 2009. ABX Air will remain responsible for continuing our operation until their transition is complete. To ensure adequate staffing throughout their transition, DHL has agreed to an August Retention Plan for ABX Air employees. The August retention will be available to all ABX Air employees who are eligible for the current retention program provided you commit to work and be available to work through the month of August. If you commit now to work (and work if needed) for the month of August, you will receive an additional four (4) weeks of retention pay. To participate, complete an August Retention Commitment Form and give it to your manager by Friday, May 15, 2009. Managers will be distributing these forms this week.

We have been meeting with DHL management to establish a Cincinnati transition plan. These plans include the transition flight schedule, facilities ABX Air requires, and services to be provided. No firm dates have been established at this point, except that DHL intends to make the transition in July or August as previously announced.

DHL has conducted two sessions of walk-in interviews for ABX employees who were interested in working at their CVG hub. We had 71 employees show interest in the positions as sort/ramp employees. We will work one-on-one with the employees that are offered the position on a release date. Interviews continue for ground/ramp employees in Cincinnati on Tuesdays.

The Employee Welcome Center (EWC) closed permanently on May 5. All employees who previously utilized the EWC to access the base now have been assigned to one of three security gates near the Administration building. Access to the base through gates not assigned to an individual is not permitted. The points of access for employees are the 1005 gate, Administration Gate 2 and 3. Parking is available near those locations.

Once on base, many employees must cross taxiway C. Use extreme caution and follow the lighted walk and don’t walk signs located by the approved walkways. Never cross when the “don’t walk” sign is illuminated. Cross only when the “walk” sign is illuminated. Be alert and cautious as aircraft do not have good visibility directly in front of the aircraft and the pilots will not see pedestrians crossing in front of them. Always look both ways and take personal responsibility for your safety. Additional information is available on the employee web site.

On Monday, May 18th, DHL employees from Cincinnati will begin ramp and ground training here at the Wilmington Gateway. This training will help ensure a smooth transition for our customer. If you have any questions on this program, please contact your supervisor.

Flight Operations
In Flight Operations news, members of the Union and Company negotiating teams meet in the National Mediation Board offices this week in Washington, DC. We are scheduled to meet again next week as well. We continue to discuss articles in the Collective Bargaining Agreement as well as Severance/Retirement issues and are hoping to make progress during these talks in Washington.

On May 16, we begin a new charter route for DHL from Brussels, Belgium to Lagos, Nigeria. This flight operates round trips, covering six days per week. We are excited about this new opportunity, and we intend to demonstrate to DHL our ability to operate for them in the worldwide environment. We are working with local security companies to provide secure transportation and lodging for our crews in Lagos, and we appreciate the insights and suggestions our crewmembers and the Union have provided. We will ensure our employees are safe, both in terms of the flight operations and while on the ground.

Finally, to all the moms out there, Happy Mother’s Day. For everyone else, don’t forget to recognize your mom on her special day.

That is all for this week. Be safe, take care of each other, and thanks for calling.

Todd France's Infoline  |  April 30, 2009

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is Todd France, Senior Director of Ground Operations with the ABX Air INFOline for April 30, 2009.

Safety
This past week many areas celebrated perfect first quarter results with no safety incidents within their work areas. I’d like to again say congratulations to those areas for their commitment to a safe work environment. Great job!

Recently, a concern was voiced on the wrong type of stairs being placed for the flight crews to utilize at our freighter aircraft. Mike Gerdes, Vice President of Flight Operations, wanted to thank the Ground Department for responding in a timely manner to these concerns brought by the Flight Department. Mike also indicated that aircraft stairs are also being looked at other locations, not just here in ILN.

As you’re aware, we continue to increase the number of employees that are utilizing the Admin 2 and 1005 entry gates to gain access to the base. As a result, we have more employees walking across the ramp to get to their assigned work areas. I’d like to take a moment to ensure everyone is aware of some of the policies and regulations when crossing the ramp:

• Employees cannot cross the blue AOA lines onto the ramp without an AOA badge and reflective gear (when applicable). Employees must walk across the C taxiline within the cross walk, which is in between the blue AOA lines.

• Also please pay close attention to the WALK/DO NOT WALK sign at the beginning of the ramp. When the DO NOT WALK sign lights up, employees or vehicles cannot move across the C taxi lane, until replaced with the WALK indicator. If the DO NOT WALK sign comes on while walking across the taxi way, the employee should NOT panic, but simply increase the speed to move safely across the taxiway or toward the closest safe point. As with walking across the street, be sure to check traffic flow from both directions prior to moving across the C taxi lane.

• Last but not least, when exiting buildings on the base, employees should following the length of the building, keeping inside the blue AOA line, and not cut diagonally across the B ramp to reach the cross walk.

Compliance
I’d like to congratulate the reload sort areas within the Ground Department who scored a perfect 100 percent on their second quarter quality audit. Great job. Keep up the good work. As I told Regina, you’re truly making a difference!

People
DHL will hold recruiting sessions here in Wilmington for ABX Air employees who would like to work for DHL once they move their operation to CVG, which is targeted for the end of the summer. Interviews will be held the evenings of Thursday, April 30 and Monday, May 4 at the Air Park Transition Center in Building 5. The events begin at 6 p.m. and last two hours. Each session is limited to the first 80 applicants. Based on turnout at these two sessions, we will work with DHL to hold more recruiting sessions here in Wilmington if required.

Third shift positions being filled are International Service Agents, part-time package handlers and full-time ramp positions. Benefits include medical, vision, dental, Life Insurance, 401k, pension, short and long term disability, paid time off, tuition assistance, and employee discounts.

ABX Air Reorganization
As you’re aware, the new MRO, AMES, is on track and opening up this Monday, May 4. Unfortunately, there are a large number of ABX employees who will have their last days of service with ABX over the next couple of days. To those employees that are leaving us we thank you for all your years of service and wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.

DHL’s Plans for the Future
We continue to work with DHL leaders to understand their plans for the CVG transition. Look forward to updates and answers to your questions regarding the transition coming in the near future.

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

Thank you all for all you are doing for our Company. Feel free to drop John a note with any questions or comments you have. His email address is John.Graber@abxair.com. 

Be safe and take care.

John Starkovich's Infoline  |  April 23, 2009

Good afternoon folks. This is John Starkovich, Vice President of Human Resources with the ABX Air INFOline for April 23, 2009.

Safety

Would like to start off with safety because it is important and because some recognition is in order for certain groups.

First, congratulations to the Haz employees working in the Ground Department. We want to congratulate you for no recordables for 3 months. Thank you for the great effort.

Similar congratulations to the folks in Base Shops. They hit 270 accident-free days. That’s 3 quarters with no accidents, which is simply fantastic. Many thanks for a great effort.

The last item of Safety is to remind folks to drive carefully and safely on the ramp. With everything that is going on here at ABX, understandably we often find ourselves pre-occupied and not paying as much attention as we should when it comes to practicing good driving etiquette and safety on the airport so we must make the effort to do so.

Safety is serious. We want everyone to go home every day without an injury and we need you to make that happen by looking out for yourself and your fellow employees.

New Business

Good news about some new flying that ABX will be doing for DHL across the Atlantic. We are going to be flying from Brussels, Belgium to Lagos, Nigeria. It is scheduled to start up on May 15 and is a four month arrangement. There are many details yet to be worked out. We are happy to have the business and the opportunity to preserve jobs for our pilots.

In past INFOlines we have talked about the closing of the Employee Welcome Center. Toward that end, the motor pool has been relocated to the area between buildings C & D. There is currently an issue with having the badge security system operable at one of the gate locations which is being worked by DHL. May 4 is the goal.

AMES, the new MRO, is in full hiring mode. They have filled approximately 214 positions so far. We also want to take the opportunity to welcome Daniel Boggs who is the Director of Heavy Maintenance and comes to AMES from AAR.

DHL’s CVG Facility

We have been advised by DHL that they are putting out ads and starting the hiring process for the positions in CVG. The current sessions are scheduled for every Tuesday beginning April 21 through June 23, 2009, with no session on May 26. There are two time periods on each day with one from noon to 3 p.m. and a second from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Each session is limited to the first 100 participants. Interviews and drug screens will be done. You will need a driver's license or other state picture ID as well as to provide 10 years of work and home address history. If you do not bring these items with you, then you will not be allowed to participate. The sessions are at the Cincinnati Airport Marriott, 2395 Progress Drive, Hebron, KY 41048. We will request DHL to do an interview session here at ILN and will keep you advised.

That is all for today’s info line. Many thanks for the great job that you continue to do for ABX. Take care.

John Graber's Infoline  |  April 16, 2009

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air INFOline for April 16th, 2009.

Safety
In the last 30 days we have had two accidents on our Wilmington ramp. In the first, a tug and an aircraft fuel truck collided. In the second, a van hit an aircraft fuel truck. In both cases vehicles moved in front of the fuel trucks, causing the accidents. No one was hurt in either event, but that was just dumb luck.

I’ve asked our Safety organization to review the accidents and define the root causes, and make sure we tell everyone what happened and why, but in the meantime, I’ll tell you how to prevent ramp accidents – follow our procedures. Be careful. Respect the ramp environment when you’re out there.

There is a very real difference between doing things quickly and rushing. When you work with a deliberate purpose, when you operate as quickly as conditions allow you to work Safely, you’re doing your job. When you’re rushing, not paying attention, and violating our procedures, you let everyone down. All of us need to pay attention on the ramp.

I’ve asked our Safety and Security organizations to help me reinforce Safe and standard ramp driving practices. If someone stops you on the ramp, they’re doing what I’ve told them to do. Listen to what they have to say. They’re trying to keep you Safe.

In better Safety news, Safety Coordinator John Kindrick reports that our Haz Sort organization did not have an OSHA recordable accident for the entire first quarter. That is simply outstanding. Great work. This is our fourth organization to end the quarter with this kind of performance. Thank you to everyone in Haz Sort for your hard work and professionalism. Safety isn’t easy, and I very much appreciate your dedication to the cause.

Operations
I have more perfect operational performance to report this week. Our Transportation organization under Dean Beckett and our Ramp organization under Greg Gear both scored a perfect 100% in their first quarter quality audits. Thank those folks and their organizations for their hard work and dedication. What a great job.

ABX Air Reorganization
By the end of this week we will have finished communicating ABX Air’s restructuring plans. Most of those plans take affect May 4. You may remember, these are the organizational changes we announced during our Hangar Talks in March. We said then that we needed to lower our costs and increase the efficiency of our airline-related business. That’s what we’re implementing now.

If you work in Flight Operations, Maintenance and Engineering, Purchasing, IT, Safety, Finance or Accounting, you should know what your part of our business looks like going forward. If you don’t, talk to your department head and they’ll give you the information you need. We want you to have all the information we can give you about your future here, and we want you to have it as soon as possible.

All of these changes create stress in everyone, and we all handle that stress in different ways. If you need help, we want to provide it. Our Employee Assistance Counselor is available twenty-four hours a day at (800) 888-2998, and Dr. Richard Mague, a counselor, is here today and tomorrow. You can get in touch with him in the large break room in building 1005, from eight to four both days.

Help us take care of you and our coworkers.

Wilmington Changes
We are still working on how to reduce our Wilmington footprint. We’ve moved the motor pool, and are in the process of moving out of the Employee Welcome Center. That transition will be complete this month.

For our office workers, we are still evaluating where we will consolidate our offices. The administration building and building two are the main candidates. We will start moving sometime in May.

Global Freight Reports
You know that we have stopped flying in Asia, and closed our Osaka, Japan base. Japan Airlines recently reported its February international cargo volume – they reported it down 39% year over year. That kind of decline highlights why our Customer, All Nippon, stopped flying us in Asia.

Retention Money Deferrals
One of our folks asked me if we can defer part of his retention payment until next year so he won’t have to pay income taxes on the entire amount this year. I checked with our tax expert, and we cannot do that. The IRS has a rule that says income becomes taxable on the earliest date the employee has a right to it. I very much appreciate the idea, and welcome yours, but we can’t make this one work.

Rumors
I need you to pay special attention to this rumor this week.

The rumor is that ABX Air’s profit sharing plan is out of money. This comes from one of our folks who is looking for places to roll over his 401k plan. He said a local financial person told him that ABX has borrowed all the money in our profit sharing plan and has no way to pay it back.

That is not true – and it is not true on every level. First, the ABX Air profit sharing plan is sound. Second, ABX Air has not, and cannot, borrow those funds. The Bank of New York/Mellon maintains ABX Air’s profit sharing funds in a trust. Your profit sharing funds are intact.

I am very worried that some unscrupulous person is trying to take advantage of you by spreading this kind of inaccurate information, trying to make you move your money somewhere you should not. Please be very careful. Work with people you know, and people you trust.

That is all the news I have today. 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.

Debbie Loveless' Infoline  |  April 9, 2009

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. This is Debbie Loveless with the ABX Air INFOline for April 9, 2009.

John Graber's Infoline  |  April 2, 2009

I have worried about our Ground Operations statistics, but our incidents are down by a third, year-over-year, and performance like this really helps.

We are also going to consolidate our physical footprint on base. We are evaluating several alternatives, but our goal is to close all the buildings we can, and move our airline operations – flight and maintenance – into one building. I’ve asked Gary Stover, our Vice President of Air Park, Tammy Voss, our ABX Air Controller, and Grant Richardson, who runs our IT systems, to lead our efforts. Look for us to start moving sometime in May.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is Gary Stover with the ABX Air Infoline for March 26.

Safety
Let’s begin with safety again this week. Recently the employees in Base Shop found that they were getting carbon monoxide readings in their respirator breathing air.  Property maintenance analyzed the compressor and breathing air system.  They identified that the heater in the compressor room had a small crack in the heat exchanger allowing some carbon monoxide to get sucked into the breathing air compressor.  Both groups worked well identifying a safety hazard and in determining the solution. Our thanks go out to Jack Sharp, Rudy Burden, Eugene Engle, Steve Smith, Sam Spargur, Phil Baker, Steve Wright, Pat Hinton, and Steve DeWeese.

Through Feb 2009 our OSHA Case Frequency rate is 24% below last year's total.  Our Lost Time Frequency is 37% below our 2008 year end value.  The Ground Dept, which has typically had a high OSHA Case Freq, has reduced their rate by almost 33%. This is good performance, and we very much appreciate the part everyone plays in making reductions like these happen every day. Thank you.

Operational Performance
Our STAR Goal for March is 95%. As of March 23rd we are at 95.01%. Let’s all stay focused on the job at hand for the rest of the month and ensure we meet this goal.

ATSG announces annual & 4th Quarter earnings
ATSG said its 2008 revenues increased 37 percent to $1.61 billion from $1.17 billion in 2007. Fourth-quarter 2008 revenues increased 35 percent to $430.7 million from $319.2 million. For more information please visit www.atsginc.com.

DHL update
Joe Hete and John Graber met last week with Ken Allen, newly appointed CEO of DHL Express about the future of the two key agreements – the ACMI and our Hub Services Agreement – that define our business with DHL. It was our first discussion with DHL about their plans for the future. We hope this meeting will be the first in a series of discussions. DHL is very happy with the service we provide but is looking for lower costs. We have no indication of how they will operate past September yet, but we expect to cover that ground in subsequent meetings.

AMES update
Several weeks ago it was announced that Airborne Maintenance & Engineering Services (AMES) was hiring. We are still hiring and continue to identify candidates that will help us build a world-class organization. We are very pleased with the amount of interest in AMES.

We have identified some of the key leadership positions across different operational and support departments. The positions and individuals selected to-date are as follows:

With these selections, the key leaders can now move quickly to begin another series of interviews that will assist in identifying additional leadership and technical positions within their respective departments. We would like to thank all of those that have participated in the selection process and to congratulate those that have joined AMES.

By the end of this week, all positions will be posted on www.airbornemx.com. Remember, the MRO openings are not posted on ABX Air bulletin boards. The only place you will find AMES opportunities is the www.airbornemx.com web site.

Transition Center update
The Air Park Transition Center has opened up Résumé Support, Interviewing Skills, and numerous computer classes to non-noticed employees. Classes will be scheduled with noticed employees first and then non-noticed employees will be contacted when seats are available in classes. These classes must be taken during non-work hours.

Please go to the Transition Center web site at airparktransitioncenter.com for a full calendar of events and call 937-366-2665 to schedule a class.

The Air Park Transition Center web site has a very useful Job Bank for job seekers. The Job Bank has over 270 open jobs posted by numerous employers and they are broken down into categories that are easy to identify. Go to airparktransitioncenter.com to see what jobs are listed.

Retirement plan
A letter was sent to all Retirement Plan participants on March 20, 2009 from Joe Hete. We had previously notified you that the Company elected to freeze the accruals in the Retirement Income Plan effective April 14, 2009. We understand that a company-sponsored retirement program is an important part of your total compensation. Joe indicated that the Company was reviewing alternatives for a "go forward" retirement program.

The Company has elected to enroll all eligible employees into the 5% contribution program under the Capital Accumulation Plan / 401(k). This is the same program that has been provided to employees hired after September 1, 2005, who were not eligible to participate in the retirement income plan.

All eligible employees will receive a contribution equal to 5% of eligible earnings to their 401(k) account. The contribution will be made after the close of each year. For 2009, since you earned credit under the Retirement Income Plan for the first 3 months of 2009, the 5% contribution will be prorated starting April 1, 2009.

Some other important details:

• You must be employed by ABX Air on December 31 of each year to receive a contribution for that year.

• The contribution will be invested in the age appropriate Fidelity Freedom Fund. After the contribution is made, you may elect to transfer the funds into any of the other investment options in the 401(k) plan.

• You must be a full-time or part-time employee (not covered by a collective bargaining agreement) and have a least one year of service with the Company and work 1,000 hours during the year to receive a contribution.

• You do not have to be contributing to the 401(k) plan to receive the 5% contribution.

• You become 100% vested in the program after completing 3 years of service with the Company. Your service under the Retirement Income Plan will count towards vesting.

• Severance and retention payments are not eligible earnings for calculating the 5% contribution.

Additional information about the 5% contribution can be found in the Benefits Handbook (Summary Plan Description) in the Retirement Plans section. This document is also available online at www.myabx.com/benefits.

If you have any questions about your retirement benefits please contact Kathy Eversman on ext. 62463 or Dawna Kennedy on ext. 62150.

Giving back
ABX Air and DHL are teaming up to support the Red Cross by hosting a series of $5 Casual Days. Just in Clinton County alone, over 5,250 people received a service from the American Red Cross in 2008. The next $5 Casual Days are Thursday, April 9, and Thursday, April 30.

Our People
Maintenance & Engineering honored six employees with Letters of Recognition: Bruce Boyers, Steve DeWeese, Chad Hadley, Jay Iseman, Glen Okumura, and Mitchell Worthington. Congratulations.

That’s all the news I have for this week. John Graber will update the Infoline next Thursday.

Thank you for all of your efforts.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air Infoline for March 19, 2009.

Safety
In Safety this week, I want to thank Tom Shaw for pointing out a Safety issue. Tom saw we’d left a hoist set up in a way that might violate OSHA regulations. He reported the problem, and we dismantled the hoist and took it out of service. Tom, thank you for helping us correct our error.

Like all complex organizations, we make mistakes. Keeping our error rate small is important, but just as important is how we solve the mistakes we do make. When an error creates unsafe or non-compliant conditions, help us. When you see something you don’t think is right, make sure you point it out and we’ll tend to the issue quickly.

Our Ramp and Transportation departments reported no recordable injuries for February. Exceptional performance. Thank you to everyone who put those numbers together in a very challenging month. Keep that streak going.

Ramp and Transportation’s February numbers are helping us with our overall Safety and injury performance. Our annual goal for OSHA-recordable events in 2009 is 6.2 events. Our current performance is 3.6 – a very good score. Any injury is one too many, so I’ll never be satisfied with any event in this area, but our performance is much better than it has ever been, and it is important to recognize that improvement. Thank you all for your hard work and attention to detail. Keeping each other Safe in our demanding environment is the most important things we all do.

Operational Performance
In our first quarter quality audits, Autosort, Primary A, Primary F, Sections 10 and 11, all scored a perfect 100 percent. Thanks to all of you who put those numbers together.

Audits are one measure – a snapshot – of how we’re doing for our Customer and for each other on a given day. The challenge is to ensure we hit the high marks whether an auditor is watching or not.

Our Recent Deal with DHL
Yesterday we announced that ABX Air and DHL have agreed to two things, both important to our company. First, we agreed to amend our $92 million note with DHL. DHL has agreed to extinguish $46 million of the note, and ATSG, our parent company, will pay DHL $15 million to further reduce the remaining principal we owe DHL. DHL will also withdraw its claim for us to repay the note early. DHL had made that argument last year after ATSG bought CHI. The impact of all this is that we’ve reduced a $92 million debt to $31 million – and only spent $15 million to do it. If you aren’t familiar with the note, it is an obligation that came out of DHL’s purchase of Airborne. It has been on ABX Air’s books from our first day as a new business. Second, DHL and ABX Air signed a memorandum of understanding – an MOU – to give DHL the option to dry lease four Boeing 767 freighters. We’ll lease them the aircraft at favorable rates, from August 15, 2010, through 2015. In return for those leases, DHL will assume financial responsibility for five leased 767 PCs. This agreement gives DHL access to aircraft it needs, if it needs them, and reduces our debt by almost $53 million. This agreement does not extend our ACMI contract with DHL.

Senior leaders from ABX, ATSG and DHL have been working these issues for over six months. When we sign final documentation and close the agreements, we will have reduced ATSG’s long-term obligations by almost 20% - helping us make our company significantly stronger. I want to thank everyone on the ATSG, ABX and DHL teams who helped put these deals together.

We have not yet started talking to DHL yet about the future of the two key agreements – the ACMI and our Hub Services Agreement – that define our business with DHL. We expect to start those discussions soon.

Rumors
There is a rumor that we’ve changed the way the retention program or retention payments will be made. The rumor is that a person can leave the company whenever they want, and receive retention. That is incorrect. One of the basic qualifiers for retention and severance is that you have to work for us as long as you are needed. That basic component of both programs has not changed.

That is all the news I have. 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.

Brady Templeton's Infoline  |  March 12, 2009

Good morning ladies and gentleman. This is Brady Templeton with the ABX Air Infoline for March 12th.

Safety
First of all, Safety continues to be one of our highest priorities. You continue to demonstrate this as a priority by the marked improvements that have been achieved. Continue your focus on Safety through daily communications at all levels within the organization and with thorough follow-ups on any accident that involves an injury or damage event.

Operations
Congratulations on beating our STAR service goal for February. The goal was 94 percent, and we ended the month with 94.17 percent on-time arrivals. Only three more late arrivals would have dropped us below the goal. As you can see by this narrow success, every on-time arrival is important! You will see your STAR payout on your check on March 27th.

Transition Center
We continue to receive very positive feedback on experiences at the transition center. We appreciate the professionalism and effectiveness that is being demonstrated by all involved.

The State of North Dakota will hold a job fair at the Air Park Transition Center next Thursday, March 19th from 10am to 3pm. Bring your resume and 'Dress for Success'. North Dakota has thousands of jobs available. This could be a life changing opportunity for you.

Last week the Transition Center hosted a job fair for Mane Fragrance located in Lebanon, Ohio. Over 80 Air Park employees had personal interviews and the initial feedback from company representatives was excellent. They were impressed with the caliber of people that came to the job fair and everyone was well prepared.

Currently, most services offered at the transition center are available to noticed employees only. However, if you need assistance with a resume or other support, you can speak to the State Representative that is available at the transition center in bldg. 5 from 9a-3p Monday through Friday. Ellen Burchett will be happy to help you. Just call 366-2665 and ask for Ellen.

Don't forget to check the Transition Center website at www.airparktransitioncenter.com for other helpful information.

Thanks to all the staff supporting the Transition Center. They are doing an outstanding job in serving our displaced employees.

Airborne Maintenance & Engineering Services
We are excited with the high degree of interest in this new venture, witnessed by the sheer volume of on-line applications received. To date there have been more than 200 applications received for only 10 positions.

As we stated in our hangar talks last week, additional opportunities for management and staff positions will be posted this week. We are on track to post them by close of business Friday, March 13. Additional positions are expected early next week with all technical positions being posted the week of March 23.

We are finalizing an organizational structure that will provide a better understanding of the layout that’s been envisioned for this new company. In addition, we’ll provide a summary of other details necessary to make educated decisions on which job opportunity provides the greatest interest to you. These details will be posted on bulletin boards sometime next week.

We’re still on track to transition in May. Stay tuned for additional updates as they become available.

That’s all the news I have for this week. John Graber will update the Infoline next Thursday.

Thank you for all of your efforts.

John Graber's Infoline  |  March 5, 2009

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air INFOline for March 5, 2009. I hope everyone is doing well.

Safety
In Safety this week, I want to pass on the comments of Nicholle Stratton, one of our Safety Coordinators. Nicholle wrote our Ground Department to find out who was driving tug 1842 the other night. Alex Hesler was the driver, and Nicholle reported that Alex "took the time to pick up freight that was in the main drive lane." She said, "Several vehicles passed by it, and the drive lanes were quite busy. Not only was he promoting Safety but also Customer service. Please tell him it was noticed and very appreciated."

Nicholle’s note gives me the chance to thank two of our folks – Alex for the care and professionalism he showed on the job, and Nicholle for taking the time to find out who he was and send me the story.

Thanks to both of you.

Operational Excellence
Jeremy Heard wrote to tell me about the remarkable job our line maintenance pros did in Memphis recently. We use a trailer there, and for some reason the power went out in the trailer for the better part of a week.

Undeterred, our Line Reps David Huff and Nick McTague, and Field Supervisor Wes Ballard improvised. They have to terminate a 767 at the station, and that required power. To make things go, David, Nick and Wes moved a DHL light cart off the ramp, put it next to their trailer, and used the generator on the light cart to power their computer and printer.

And the best part is our Memphis team turned their aircraft on-time all week long.

Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you very much.

Hangar Talks
We held our Spring Hangar Talks yesterday. Thanks to all of you who attended. If you missed the meetings, you can find a recording of the morning session on ABXnet.

We covered a lot at the meetings. I’ll hit the high points here.

We reviewed our Safety and Compliance performance. It has been excellent since May 28. Thank you for your work in turning in that strong performance day after day, month after month. We talked about how much our company has changed in the last nine months, and about the operational performance we’ve turned in – 98 percent on time. That performance is making a difference for DHL and can help us keep their business for a long time going forward.

We talked about the Deutsche Post investors’ call last week. In that call Deutsche Post’s CEO, Frank Appel, indicated the DHL/UPS deal was in doubt. But he said their performance in the United States drawdown had been excellent. That comment was a direct reference to the work of ABX Air. Appel announced that Ken Allen, who has been CEO of DHL US since May, has been promoted to CEO of the entire DHL Express operation. We have spent a considerable amount of time with Ken. He is someone we can work with.

I talked about the plans for our business we projected last June – trying to keep DHL for the long term, building our ACMI charter business beyond DHL, ATSG’s dry leasing aircraft, and expanding our services businesses. Today, ABX Air and ATSG are doing exactly what we said we’d do last June, and all those efforts are paying off.

We spent a lot of time going over ATSG’s new MRO business – Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services (AMES). That business is starting to advertise for People. Go to their website, www.airbornemx.com, for more information. Longtime ABX Air leader Brady Templeton is the General Manager of that new business.

At ABX Air, we intend to hire the new MRO to perform all of our aircraft touch labor in the hangar and on the line. Terry Scherz, our VP of Maintenance and Engineering, is working with Brady Templeton on how we’ll transition work from ABX to AMES. I expect that we will transition our first work from ABX to AMES in early May.

We talked about the economy’s impact on the worldwide ACMI marketplace, and how we have to lower our costs to be more competitive. I told everyone that we are going to reduce pay in many of our airline positions to better align the compensation in those jobs with the environment we find ourselves in today.

We are going to do that for two reasons – to attract more ACMI business, and to show DHL that we can lower our costs and give them a cost structure that allows them to stay in Wilmington, using ABX Air to fly for them, for a long time to come.

I told you all months ago that Joe Hete and I would take the first pay cuts in our business. Joe and I cut our pay with our first paychecks of 2009. We will cut our pay again when we implement the cuts for everyone else in early May.

Rumors
A rumor coming out of the Hangar Talks was that we have a warehouse full of purple paint to use when FedEx moves into the base. I checked with our facilities and materials folks. No purple paint. They say every rumor has a kernel of truth to it; I don’t know the kernel in that one.

That is all the news I have. It was good seeing so many of you yesterday. 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.

Bob Gray's Infoline  |  February 26, 2009

This is Bob Gray, Vice President of Regulatory Compliance and Government Affairs for the ABX Air INFOline for Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009.

Many of you have expressed your interests in the status of the ongoing negotiations with our pilot group. For the past three months the company has been working hard with the Pilot Union representatives in a concentrated attempt to reach a collective bargaining agreement that will allow the ABX to compete in the ACMI market. During that time, most of our efforts were spent developing new scheduling rules that were designed to eliminate the unproductive aspects of the existing agreement. We are pleased with the overall outcome achieved by these new work rules and are proceeding to work our way through the rest of the contract. While progress continues to be made, we are somewhat disappointed at the rate of that progress. The sooner we can nail down our new cost structure, the better assurance we have of being an effective competitor as we work to expand our presence in the ACMI marketplace.

To be competitive in that market, it will require lower overall costs across all parts of the Company, including not only the pilot group, but all the rest of the employees. We will all be working harder and taking on greater levels of responsibility, and we will be reviewing all cost areas. Our spending needs to be in line with our revenue. ABX Air must respond to these weak economic times so it can position itself for a strong recovery when the economy rebounds. Uncertainties with DHL business and the increased competition in the ACMI market are driving changes to our business model right now. Quality service at competitive rates is essential, and cost controls are the most effective way to accomplish this quickly.

We also have received several questions from our employees about the recently announced discontinuation of the excellent attendance program. To clarify, this discontinuation impacts the yearly attendance program, NOT the monthly productivity bonus. This productivity bonus is being done in conjunction with DHL, and is subject to their on-going approval. If you have any questions, please check with your supervisor.

For those of you that may not be aware, DHL has announced that effective February 26, John Mullen has stepped down as a member of the DHL Management Board, due to health-related issues. Mr. Mullen has been replaced by Ken Allen. Mr. Allen has most recently worked as CEO of DHL Express.

We want to continue to remind all of you that it is especially important during these turbulent times to keep your mind on the task at hand. Whether you are working on the ramp or in the cockpit, allowing your attention to be distracted from the safe performance of your job can result in an unsafe environment and place you in danger of serious injury.

Thanks to all of you for your continued hard work and dedication to make ABX Air a continued success. 

John Graber's Infoline  |  February 19, 2009

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air Infoline for February 19, 2009. I hope everyone is doing well.

Safety
Starting with Safety this week, I got an email from the head of our pilots' union's Air Safety Committee. He expressed concern about ABX Air's Safety culture. I'll use his concern as a good time to reinforce the message I gave our entire ABX Air leadership team Wednesday. There is nothing more important to us than Safety.

Let me be perfectly clear about this: we must operate safely. With all the economic stress and strain on our People and our organization, we are more likely, not less, to create an unsafe condition. If we do that, we have made an error. If you see one of those errors, you have the responsibility and the authority to correct it. Don't try to use that authority to play with our business, but if you see something in our business that you don't think is safe, stop what you're doing and help us make it safe.

The most common Safety errors we make are when we rush to do something, when we don't follow procedure, or intentionally violate procedure. You never have to do any of that to do your job. Do what you need to, to operate safely, and take our pilot's Air Safety Chair's worries seriously. Operating safely take constant vigilance and attention. Please help us provide it.

DHL
In DHL news, Deutsche Post World Net, DHL's parent, has their 2008 earnings call on February 26, and they are expected to comment on the UPS deal then. We don't know what they'll say, but both DHL and UPS have said publicly that it will be hard for them to reach a deal.

ATSG News
We have an announcement about Amerijet. This week, ATSG, our parent, announced that CAM (Cargo Aircraft Management), another ATSG company, has agreed to lease Miami-operator Amerijet two 767 freighters, with options to lease them three more.

These leases are part of the ATSG business plan Joe Hete and I first talked about in Hangar Talks last summer, part of a plan to diversify our portfolio of products to the marketplace. You may remember we talked about operating aircraft on the ABX Air certificate, growing our other businesses as we grow non-DHL revenue, and dry-leasing some of our airplanes.

These dry leases create a new revenue stream for ATSG, and can secure many jobs both here in Wilmington and elsewhere. Though our flight crews will not be operating these aircraft, ATSG will provide virtually every service from maintenance to spare parts to pilot training.

Cost Control Efforts
I'll move to our pay plan for 2009. This week we announced that we are instituting a pay freeze at ABX Air. The freeze will go into effect on February 23 and run for 52 weeks. Every ATSG company is freezing pay. There are many details surrounding how we will implement the freeze, and we will work hard to make sure we get them all right, but this is a complex process. If you see us making a mistake, point it out and help us fix it.

We've taken this action because it's clear to us that the economy is getting dramatically worse, and there will be an impact on our business. We have to manage costs and adjust, so that when things turn around, we're best positioned to take advantage of the opportunities that will be there.

Freezing pay is the first of several actions we'll take going forward. I've asked our senior leadership team to restructure ABX Air and create a lower-cost model that is a strong competitor in the ACMI marketplace. We will change processes, we'll shed work, and we'll create new efficiencies in our business. They will look at how we do everything and what we have to do to be competitive. My expectation is that we will complete this restructuring by the first week of May.

Hangar Talks
I told you last week that we'd have Hangar Talks this week. I need to delay those until March 1, because I think its best to have our meetings after we hear the Deutsche Post World Net earnings call on February 26. March 4 is the first Wednesday after that call, when most People are here, so we'll have our meetings then. Please look for the schedule and come hear Joe Hete and I talk about our plans for the year ahead.

Rumors
I heard the rumor that we are talking with DHL about operating 767s for them internationally. I don't usually comment on business opportunities, but in this case I can tell you we have had no such discussions with DHL. They've been bound by an exclusivity agreement with UPS for quite some time and have not talked to us about future business at all.

That's all the news I have. We'll update the INFOline again next Thursday. Thank you all for all you're doing for us and our company. Please drop me a note with any questions or comments. My email address is john.graber@abxair.com. Take care.

John Graber's Infoline  |  February 12, 2009

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air Infoline for February 12, 2009. I hope everyone is doing well.

Safety
Its north of fifty degrees in Wilmington this week, but as I sit here writing this the wind is blowing at fifty knots. Much of the safety in our operations starts with planning. Tuesday morning, when Jim O’Grady started tracking these winds, all of you went to work. You mobilized, securing our equipment, our aircraft, and our ramps. That preparation helped us make it through Wednesday night’s winds unscathed. It was a good job by everyone concerned. Thank you for your attention to detail.

Retention
There have been many questions regarding retention payments. Today, I have some good news. DHL’s senior US leaders have told us they intend to continue the retention program until the end of June. That would make the program run for a full year. We had worried that they would stop the program early, because their deal with UPS appears in doubt. I spoke with DHL’s leaders myself this week, and they assured me they will pay retention for the full year. Payment will be made in July or early August.

Many of you have asked me if you have to leave now to ensure yourself you will get the retention payments. You do not.

DHL and UPS
As of Wednesday, February 11, DHL is still negotiating with UPS.

Tough Year
It is clear to me that 2009 is going to be a tough year for ABX Air. Not that 2008 was any cake walk, but we have a lot of hard work to do this year, and we have to do it in really tough conditions. In addition to all of DHL’s issues, our other businesses are impacted by the poor global economy.

Charter cargo is off in Miami. Asian flying is down. The good news for ABX Air is that our 767s are fewer in number and in stronger demand than 747s, for instance. But the poor economy’s impact on oil, and the resulting lower fuel prices, makes it easier to keep larger, more fuel inefficient aircraft flying.

We are going to have to respond to the changes we face. I’ve tasked our senior team with building a restructuring plan for our company – one that will position us to survive the downturn, and be ready for the new cycle when it comes.

Hangar Talks
We’re scheduling a series of hangar talks for next week. Look for the schedule. In those talks Joe Hete and I will talk about our plans for the year ahead. We’ll cover current events with ABX Air and DHL, the new MRO, and we’ll answer your questions. We’ll hold the meetings several times during the day and night to cover all shifts. Please plan to attend.

Joe Muckle’s Editorial
Joe Muckle, the president of our pilots’ union, wrote an editorial in the Wilmington News Journal this week. A lot of you tell me you’re scratching your heads after reading it. Joe took ABX Air’s leadership to task in a carefully-written piece that puts out a lot of heat, but not much light.

Now you will never hear me shoot at our union or the pilots it represents. If we’re careful, and we can reach a competitive and prudent agreement, our company and our pilots union have years in front of us to work together. I want those years to be good ones, constructive ones, beneficial ones. When we disagree with our pilots and their union, it isn’t because they’ve done something wrong or because they are bad People. We disagree because we have a different point of view. Joe has chosen to characterize our disagreements as something attributable to management greed or dishonesty. That just isn’t true.

He may have taken that tack because hundreds of our pilots are losing their jobs – over 150 next week alone. They don’t deserve that anymore than anyone else at ABX Air. Our contract paid our pilots an average of $192,000 apiece last year. 233 of our pilots made over $200,000, and a few made over $400,000 in 2008. But for all that pay, our contract has never had a severance program.

When we saw DHL getting into trouble last summer, our management team went to DHL and asked for money to help our pilots. DHL agreed to provide funding. The company and the union have to negotiate a new part of the agreement for severance before DHL will pay us. The company and the union agree that all the DHL money will be directed toward our pilots, but we don’t agree on how to split it between severance and the pilots’ pension program. We’ve been negotiating for over six months.

So now, while we’re at the table working on how to move forward together, Joe writes his editorial. You’ll have to ask him why. Reading the article, I can’t tell. It doesn’t seem designed to bring the two sides together.

I have no new rumors this week, and that is all the news I have. We’ll update the Infoline again next Thursday. Make sure you come to a hangar talk next week if you can.

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 Graber's Infoline  |  February 5, 2009

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air Infoline for February 5, 2009. I hope everyone is doing well.

Safety
Winter came in earnest last week, hammering us with 2009’s first major snow event. Snow, freezing rain, sleet, ice, and more snow pelted us for more than three days. In the midst of the storm we ran over 20 hours of continuous deicing operations. We dispensed more than 100,000 gallons of deice fluid. We moved thousands of tons of snow. Under Kent Stewart’s leadership, we met our deice goals. Gary Stover and our Air Park professionals kept our airport open. Don Cook and Jan Woolums and their teams did remarkably well moving freight. Contingency, Crew Scheduling, Flight, and Maintenance Operations--everyone pulled together to make a real difference for our Customer.

I’m talking about the weather now, in my Safety section, because one of the most remarkable things about the three days is that we only had one injury. One. We worked thousands of hours, hundreds of hours of overtime. In all of that, we had one person slip and fall. One injury.

I was out in the operation for much of the worst weather. I saw you working hard, working smart, and working Safely. I cannot thank you enough for your dedication and attention to detail. That kind of Safety performance is hard to achieve. I’d prefer no one get hurt, and that has to be our goal, but your performance was great. Thank you.

Performance
Since May 28, 2008, we’ve run 98.74 percent on time for hub departures, counting the factors we control. We’ve built that record over 252 operational days. Thank you for that great job.

Milestones
The end of January marked the end of our domestic product--the product that for decades was the backbone of our business. Many thousands of you have dedicated your time, talent, and sweat to Airborne Express and ABX Air. You built one of the most innovative, efficient, and reliable delivery products in history. You should take a minute and reflect on all you’ve done over the years.

We’ve obviously reduced the size of our company as the domestic product came to an end. In the last half of 2008 we have lost nearly half the 10,000 People we used to employ. We’ve parked 55 DC-9 aircraft, and on any given day we have DHL’s 767s sometimes sitting idle. Those aircraft reductions cost many of our pilots their jobs. Many more pilots face huge cuts in pay as they are forced to downgrade from captain to first officer.

Severance is not part of our pilots’ contract as it stands now. When we saw DHL’s trouble beginning, it quickly became apparent that our pilots’ group would be the only set of Employees impacted by DHL’s decline that would not be entitled to severance. That isn’t right, so we sent John Starkovich, our VP of HR, to ask DHL for help. There are two broad problems facing our pilots--the first is the lack of a severance plan and the second is an underfunding of their pension program that goes back to when DHL bought Airborne Express. After our discussions, DHL agreed to provide millions of dollars for the benefit of our pilots.

Last fall, months before our first pilot lost his job, we started negotiating with our pilots’ union on how to spend DHL’s funding. The union’s position is the money should be spent predominately on severance. We believe the money is best spent on severance and the pilots’ pension fund. There is good work being done on both sides of the table to reach an agreement--but there is a wide gap between the positions. It is important that we reach agreement on these issues soon because 160 pilots lose their jobs this month in our largest pilot layoff ever.

Industry and DHL News
ABX Air is not alone in these hard times. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported Asia–Pacific traffic down 26 percent, and Latin American traffic down 23.7 percent for December. IATA’s figures only cover scheduled international traffic, not charter flying, but they paint a bleak picture.

In a conference call this week, UPS’ CFO, Kurt Kuehn said UPS isn’t looking for any “meaningful recovery until 2010.” UPS is laying off aircraft mechanics, has frozen management salaries, and is suspending its 401(k) match.

During that conference call, Scott Davis, UPS’ Chief Executive Officer, told analysts that it has become “very difficult” to reach an agreement to fly freight for DHL. He cited DHL’s scaled back plans in the US as the reason. Davis told analysts that negotiations are continuing, and he said UPS “gained significant new volume as a result” of DHL’s move.

That quote will spark all kinds of rumors around ABX Air. What you need to know is that DHL has told us nothing definite about what they intend for their business, or for ABX Air going forward. When you hear what someone calls the big news or the true story, take it with a grain of salt. DHL is still sorting out huge issues. When they tell us their intent, we’ll tell you, and we’ll do it as quickly as we can.

All these reductions are hard. I won’t try to tell you anything different. But I will tell you that the changes we’re making in our business are going to keep it alive. We are in the worst economic times of a generation. Thousands of businesses around the world are failing. We are not. We aren’t what we were, and that is hard to accept, but I’d suggest that we can be better than we were, and that’s what we’re working towards right now.

MRO
Late last week we met with the state of Ohio about our MRO business. It was a very good meeting. State representatives showed us much of the aid they are proposing to help our MRO get off the ground. We will wind up these discussions with the state no later than February 23. Once the state commits its aid package to us, we’ll be able to formally announce our MRO plans. Thank you again for your patience.

I have no new rumors this week, and that is all the news I have. 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. 

Terry Scherz' Infoline  |  January 29, 2009

That is all I have to say for this week. John Graber will be back next week on the INFOline. Until then be safe and look out for each other. Thank you.

John Graber's Infoline  |  January 22, 2009

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air Infoline for January 22, 2009. This I hope this finds everyone well and staying warm.

Safety
Our Air Park Services personnel are working almost 24 hours a day to keep our runways, driveways and walkways clear. We haven’t had that much snow this year, but it is coming with enough frequency to make things dangerous. Please remember that this is our most dangerous season of the year. Every year several People slip and fall. Please, take the extra time to make sure you are Safe.

New Flying
We started our first scheduled trans-Atlantic revenue flight this week. The route is from Kennedy Airport in New York, to Liege, in Belgium, and back. We’re flying for TNT, a major freight forwarder. We’re able to fly the route in part because we have reached agreement on augmenting crews with our pilots union. Thank you to everyone involved in making this new venture a success. And if you’re one of our pilots new to MNPS airspace re-release and North Atlantic procedures, please make sure you square yourself away before your assignment. This is good flying, but you do have to be ready for it.

ABX Air is Going to Change
We’re well into the demanding job of designing the new ABX Air. The new ABX Air will be similar to the one we work for now, but better – and worse. We’ll be better because we’re going to be faster, leaner, and less tied to one Customer. Some will say we’re worse because for some of our jobs, the new business can’t support the same pay and benefits many of us are used to.

In our new ABX Air we’re going to have to increase our productivity while we cut costs. Most of us are going to have to learn how to do more than we do today, and do only those things that add value for our Customers.

The new ABX Air will fly aircraft, and we’ll operate postal centers, and we’ll run operations for DHL as long as they need us to. We’ll sell aviation material in Bill Brown’s business, and Gary Stover’s business will provide a host of services.

I’ve asked our senior leadership team to support those business lines with an organization that is flatter, more responsive, and more supportive of our People and our Customers. That will be very hard to do, and we have no choice but to do it. That’s what our competitors are doing in our marketplace everyday. If we want to survive going forward, we have to meet our competition – but of course we don’t want to just survive – we want to dominate. We want to excel. So meeting our competitors isn’t enough. We have to beat them. And we can.

But that means change, and that is my biggest worry going forward. We’re going to ask everyone to do things differently than they’ve ever done them. We’re going to ask for more initiative, more drive, and more Customer focus. We’re going to ask you to work with a smaller, leaner organization. And we’re going to help you have fun.

Soon after DHL made its announcement May 28th, I started explaining to our folks that we have three stages in the journey in front of us. The first stage was reacting to DHL’s news, and helping our organization and our People cope with that. That stage is well along now, but still has a long way to go. The second stage is one of transitioning from what we were to what we’re going to be. We’re entering that stage now, and have to do that work while we continue supporting the tasks of the first stage of our journey. The third stage is accelerating our growth as we move forward, capitalizing on the groundwork we’re doing now, moving away from today’s hard times. That stage is still in front of us, but today we’re doing the hard work that will form the foundation we need to get there.

I know it is hard to think of a future that is better, when we’re going through such hard times now. But there is a future for ABX Air, and it is a better future, and we are working on it every day.

MRO
We are very close to finalizing our negotiations with the state of Ohio on financial aid for the MRO venture. You’ve heard me say several times that I thought we’d be done by now. We aren’t. We’re waiting on the state, and we can’t move until we get final word from them. As soon as we do, we’ll make sure you know where we are.

Transition Center
We’ve provided transition assistance to hundreds of our People, and almost all the feedback we’ve gotten is that we’re doing a very good job. This past week though, I got feedback from one of our pilots that we have some incorrect information out there about what benefits are available to pilots. That complaint was correct, and we’re working right now to make sure we get the right material to everyone. This is especially important now, because we have so many pilots who are losing their jobs.

If you are a pilot, and you have questions about what is available to you, please call the Chief Pilot’s office. We’ll make sure we put you on the right track. Getting you aid will take some work on your part, but we can make sure you know where to go for the support you deserve.

Performance
Our performance continues to exceed all expectations, but DHL’s new schedule is demanding more of us. Last week DHL implemented its new system network for the United States. They planned a structure that has little truck traffic, many more aircraft through stops than in the past, and a much reduced footprint in the sort and on the ramp.

Those changes helped knock our STAR performance for January down to 88.19%, against a goal of 93%. We’re examining the schedule to understand where we might recommend changes, but in the meantime it is critical to focus on the operation every day.

Since May 28, 2008, we’ve run 98.78% on time for the hub departures. That performance, day after day, is something you can be very proud of. Thank you.

DHL News Business Week magazine reported this week that the DHL UPS deal is late. Of course we’ve all known that for some time. Business Week quotes an analyst as saying he doesn’t think the deal will happen.

You can find speculation about a DHL UPS deal everywhere. But the only ones who know the status for certain are the DHL and UPS leaders who are negotiating. DHL’s US CEO tells me they are still negotiating with UPS. I tell you that simply to tell you something that is not a rumor.

Rumors
There is a rumor this week that DHL asked us to keep flying five DC-9s and I turned them down. That isn’t true. We follow a very formal, written process when DHL parks an airplane or closes a station. We parked our aircraft only in response to DHL’s written instructions. If DHL wanted to--or still wants to--fly DC-9 aircraft, all they’d have to do is tell us, and we would put that in motion as quickly as possible.

And I’ve heard the rumor again this week that our severance and retention programs are being stopped early, or otherwise coming to an end. Our agreements with DHL have not changed. It is important to note however, that as we get further down the road of deal or no deal between DHL and UPS, it gets more likely that DHL will give us a plan for their final transition. That could include their requests for changes to the agreements. And, DHL is paying retention for no more than a year, but they can stop the retention period when they choose. That has always been part of the agreements--it is not a change.

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.

This is Mike Gerdes, Sr. VP of Flight Operations, with this week's ABX Air INFOline update for Thursday, January 15, 2009.

Performance for the past five days was 94.91%. Month to date is 95.61% and average since May 28, 2008 is 98.93%. Our goal for January is 93%. Once again you are demonstrating you commitment to quality service in these difficult times.

Safety is always a focal point for all of us. I’d like to share some data with you on how successful you efforts have been related to reducing injuries.

In night ramp operations, recordable injuries went from 167 in 2007 to 60 in 2008, with lost time also reduced from 107 to 41. The focus of managers, supervisors and employees in reducing incidents has made a big difference in injuries for the ramp group. New procedures were implemented that have obviously paid off.

In the Haz Sort, recordable injuries went from 25 in 2007 to 10 in 2008, with lost time reduced from 16 to 7. This is an area that deals with many different types of safety concerns throughout their job functions, and the improvement here is a testament to their continued focus on safety.

In Non-Conveyables, again improvement over 2007 was achieved, with a reduction from 68 recordable injuries to 22 in 2008, with lost time down from 36 to 11. This area made a concerted effort to increase safety and it was a challenge they meet. Again, this is a great indication of everyone working together for a common goal.

These are just a few of the reports we are getting in which every employee here at ABX is proving their commitment to safety and the well being of their fellow employees. Keep up this important effort, as the safety and well being of each person here is everyone’s focus. Everyone should leave work in the same shape they came to work everyday.

A reminder that Fidelity Investments is holding retirement workshops in the Air Park Transition Center on January 16th and 30th. See the employee website for times and additional information.

In Flight Operations, we continue to work with the Pilots Union on many issues as the Company transitions to its’ new business pursuits. We have been meeting with the Union almost continuously to cover many items, and I am pleased to report that progress is being made.

We are also working on new capabilities for our aircraft, including Extended Range Two Engine Operations, or ETOP’s operations. This will allow our B767 aircraft to fly more direct routes over water to provide additional lift for our charter customers. We hope to have that completed and FAA approved this spring.

I had the opportunity to visit the night sort at the end of last week. I wanted to share with all of you how impressed I was with the professionalism of the managers, supervisors and employees I visited with and talked to. It was a very difficult evening with many of your friends and colleagues having their last day of work that night. Through the tears and goodbyes, everyone worked very hard to make the operation go. Everyone worked through the difficulties of that evening and showed their professionalism. You should be very proud of your accomplishments. You should be very proud of your fellow employees as well.

Thank you again for all you do and as always, take care of each other and be safe everyday.

John Graber’s Infoline  |  January 8, 2009

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This is John Graber with the ABX Air Infoline for January 8, 2009. This is my first Infoline of the New Year. I hope this finds everyone well and having had a great holiday. 

Safety 
We are well into demanding winter weather operations here in Wilmington. Please make sure you’re focused on Safety now, more than ever. If our history is any guide, the most common accidents we’ll have this winter will be slips and falls. Take the extra time to make sure you are Safe. Our Safety Department has put out an excellent resource for winter Safety on the web. Follow their advice and you’ll be well on your way to a Safe winter season.

Follow the lead of our Air Park Services organization. In the month of December our Air Park professionals turned in a perfect record – they had no recordable accidents or incidents. Great job.

Performance 
Congratulations on beating our STAR service goal in December for the fifth month in a row. The December goal was 93 percent, and we ended the month with 95.33. That is exceptional performance, and I very much appreciate the hard work you have to do every single day to make the goal. Thank you. The STAR incentive payout will be on your January 16th check. Our goal for January is 93%. 

We’ve run 99.14% on time in the 224 operational days since DHL’s May 28th announcement – looking at hub departures and the factors ABX Air controls. That near-perfect performance, day after day, is something you can be very proud of. Thank you. 

DHL News
Senior DHL leaders tell me they are still negotiating with UPS. That means they’ve missed the deadline they set to have a deal by the end of 2008, and you may remember they missed the original deadline for a deal, set last summer. There is a lot of speculation out there about what these delays mean. Everyone seems to have an opinion, and of course there are lots of rumors. What I would tell you is that, whatever you hear, the only concrete piece of information available is that DHL UPS negotiations are continuing, and they’ve taken longer than DHL planned.

We do not know what the delays mean to ABX Air. We do know that we are planning to run our night sort operations and the flights that support them until at least July 1, 2009. 

System Changes
Tammy Voss covered the closing of our regional hub system in last week’s Infoline, but I want to take this opportunity to recognize the hundreds of remarkable ABX Air Employees who did so much for so many years in the service of our company, our Customers, and each other. The People of our regional hubs are second to none. I wish all of you well, and I thank you.

This week marks another milestone for us – the last revenue flight of an ABX Air DC-9. This brings to a close decades of excellence in DC-9 service. I want to thank everyone who helped make those years of performance possible, especially our pilots and maintenance professionals. 

These changes impact hundreds of our Employees. Many of our pilots and mechanics are losing their jobs as we stop flying the nines. Please thank these fine professionals for all they’ve done for us. 

These large reductions in our business are the result of DHL’s withdrawal from the domestic market. In the next few days DHL will draw nearly 400 field locations down to about 130. Many flight lanes will close. Many locations once served by individual aircraft are being paired with through stops. 

The final parts of DHL’s transition are the changes we’re making in the Wilmington hub. You’ll see many schedule and operational changes starting this week. Our Ground Department has been working hard to coordinate the changes with DHL. The implementation of DHL’s new network will be challenging, so please make sure you are aware of the changes as you start your work.

Rumors
There is a rumor this week that our retention benefit ends in January. That is not true. Our retention program has not changed. 

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.

Tammy Voss’s INFOline  |  Jan. 1, 2009

Hello, this is Tammy Voss with the ABX Air INFOline for January 1, 2009. 

Performance
As we reflect on 2008, we can all be very proud of the excellent performance that we have provided DHL. In the 218 operational days since the May 28th announcement, we have run 99.16% on time. This is outstanding. Our STAR goal for December is 93%. Our performance has been 95.28% so far this month. Keep up the excellent work!

Regional Hub
January 4 will be the last day of operations for the ABX Regional Hub Network. Day after day, the Regional Hub employees have demonstrated their ability to work thru numerous challenges while producing solid results for our customer. In 2008, the Regional Hubs handled over 110,000 truck departures. Less than 1% of the departure delays were attributable to hub loading. This outstanding operational performance was achieved while simultaneously making gains in safety, quality, productivity and cost reductions.

The Regional Hub Team is and always has been a dedicated group of individuals with a tremendous work ethic. Thank you for all that you've done for our company. You will truly be missed.

DHL Update
Previously, we had communicated that DHL planned to stop operating the DC9 fleet sometime in January. DHL has now provided us formal notification that they will cease flying the DC-9 on Jan. 11, 2009. 

After January 11, ABX will continue to provide DHL with Boeing 767 service and night sort operations in Wilmington. DHL has stated that they will require ABX services through at least July 1, 2009. At this time, DHL has not provided ABX the 2009 freight volume forecasts and has not yet made a decision about the status of the airport. We continue to address these issues with DHL and will update you with any changes.

Our ABX Management team continues to work with DHL to explore how we can serve them in their new U.S. Strategy. In addition, we are focusing on expanding our 3rd party business. We are in the process of negotiating additional B767 Charter contracts and the MRO will be launched this spring offering five lines of business. 

As always, our ABX leadership is focused on minimizing the impact and hardships to all ABX employees. As we reduce jobs, we will treat our people respectfully, we will give notice, and we will make sure we take volunteers first whenever we can. Now more than ever, it is important that we focus on Safety. Each day we are challenged by the weather conditions, the flurry of activities and for many of us, new job responsibilities. We cannot allow these challenges to distract us. We must continue to make safety a priority. 

We thank you for your patience, hard work,actwv focus on being safe and keeping the system running well throughout 2008. We wish you and your family all the best in the coming year. 

Thank you for your time and all that you do for our Company. John Graber will be back with an update to the Infoline next Thursday.