Sheepie,
TAAE (or TAA, as they prefer to be known of late) are an operator providing aircraft and crews to service the heavy part of AaE’s network. The freight ‘belongs’ to AaE (essentially QF domestic freight and Australia Post). Companies such a DHL use aircraft as large and fast trucks to carry their own product, and are in the main uninterested in carrying other company’s freight other than as top-up, or operating on another company’s behalf.
Whilst a foreign aircraft and crewing company may be interested, it is unlikely to be “a money earner’ at current contracted rates. In fact, this has just been conclusively demonstrated. TAAE was the low bidder in a low cost sector of the market.
The problem confronting AaE is that last year they went from having two 727 contractors, Air Cargo Australia and IAF, to only one, TAAE (a re-badged Air Cargo Australia, with new owners), thus effectively putting all their eggs in one basket. If AaE are forced to prop up TAAE to ensure their own network performance, the ‘low bid’ operator may well have turned out to be the higher cost operator. Red faces indeed!
TSI,
What the ‘new owners’ prefer in the way of equipment, 310 or others, is almost irrelevant in this context. That decision has always been made by the customer, AaE.
Buster,
Not sure what you mean by the QF way? Care to elaborate?
Snooze