I thought that DHL's agreement was for Polar block space, which is a far cry from ACMI. Atlas then flies Poalr flights uder ACMI. If that is correct, then it would seem to me that Polar would pay for the fuel, not DHL. Am I wrong on this?
At any rate, it underscores my prediction a while back that things are going to get much much worse. Fuel prices are rising into the stratosphere and it going to come to a point where companies are not going to ship by air and pay the costs. I truly believe we are in for a big shock. Working where I do, I see the ever decreasing loads. It doesn't take a rocket scientist.
Back to the Polar/DHL agreement for a minute. Do you think DHL had anticipated the rapid rise of fuel costs when they signed the block space agreement? Atlas lost 5.3 million due to the price of fuel (according to them), and that was when the fuel prices were lower, much lower.
With the dollar in the tank, Europe is squawking (Financial Times) on how it is hurting their economy and they are finding it harder to sell products. The U.S economy (Europe's biggest customer) grew at an anemic .6% rate for 2 consecutive quarters.
Whether you are ACMI or schedule will make no difference if there is no shipping because no one is buying. This isn't about a DHL/Polar/Atlas connection. It is about survival.
Last edited by layinlow; 9th May 2008 at 18:27.
Reason: incorrect number