Monthly Archives: July 2018

Analysis: Is the wind in the right direction for Amazon to snap up Atlas Air?

(Updated August 2019)

The Loadstar, a much respected and often analytically correct Air Cargo magazine has published an opinion piece on the ongoing drama and negotiations at Atlas Air, Southern Air and ATSG and Amazon.

The peculiar case of Atlas management and its increasingly poor relationship with its pilots is indeed confusing – unless, that is, it turns out to be a strategy that allows its executives to cash in big time via a smart trade sale to a key client, Amazon.

Read the entire article here…

Analysis: Is the wind in the right direction for Amazon to snap up Atlas Air?

944332E0-2455-4BF9-9327-811F2232A6E4The Amazon 737-800 Passenger to freighter conversions are finally being operated by Southern Air.

Growth would seem to be assured, except for the annoying part about paying pilots a fair wage. The bitterness amongst Southern Air and Atlas Pilots has reached new lows as it’s clear the mediocre attempt at “parity” last year was just another sleight of hand in a grand scheme to prevent a new contract at Atlas and Southern Air for the foreseeable future.

It is inconceivable that a large corporation would forfeit their entire work force by attrition unto their competitors staffing formulas but this is where things are at today. The Loadstar article written last year only seems more accurate than ever before.

Atlas / Southern 777Fs are reportedly being parked because of lack of crews. Meanwhile Atlas Air’s closest competitor is hurriedly staffing an entire 777F operation which is being launched with 4 tail numbers. Compare that to the 8 airframes under Southern Air‘s operation and that is half their fleet.

So to spell this out in laymen’s terms, the appearance on the surface is that Atlas is under marching orders to keep the 767 and 737 Amazon operations staffed while allowing their wide body fleets begin to go idle.

20170325_LDD001_0SOMETHING must be more valuable to Atlas’ executives than actual revenue flying airplanes. In this business, when the executives pass up assured GROWTH, that’s usually a signal that a bankruptcy or a merger or a sale is around the corner. Since in this case Atlas is very cash rich now, the smart money says it’s another merger or a sale vs. any kind of bankruptcy.

So the Loadstar basically just published what many of us have been observing now for the past 6 months or a year now. These are still great opportunities out there in Air Cargo for anyone else who can read the ti leaves.

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I for one have adjusted my course. The first airline to deploy pilot-less drones will be Amazon. Plan accordingly my friends!

/pau for now

Kilauea Collapse Continues

The collapse of Kilauea appears to be headed East – North East away from Jagger Museum and the Visitors Center. The energy seems to be headed towards Kilauea Iki and Volcano House.

This image and all the others on this page are from the USGS Kilauea Photo & Video Chronology webpage.

The slow collapse and widening of Halema’uma’u is terribly fascinating. This is a historical catastrophe unlike anything ever witnessed in modern time.

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The next few weeks should tell if the crater walls of Kilauea proper will contain the collapse. It appears to have done just that (mostly) on the South side. The park is already forever changed. I hope to visit in person in August.

/pau