ATSG - ABX Pilots Win Back Amazon Business with Power of Positivity | Benzinga
Amazon's assignment of planes to ABX Air was also made possible by union leaders' more collaborative approach to jointly growing business after a history of tensions and a shortage of captains at sister airline Air Transport International, they said.
Parent company Air Transport Services Group (NASDAQ: ATSG) on Monday announced it signed a five-year deal with Amazon to operate an additional 10 Boeing 767-300 converted freighters on behalf of its largest customer, which will supply the aircraft. ABX Air will hire more than 50 pilots to support the new contract.
The pilot contract was negotiated in three days and provides Amazon with the long-term labor stability it needs, ATSG Chief Executive Officer Joe Hete said during an earnings call with analysts about the company's first-quarter results. The agreement came about because the pilots approached the company and offered to extend it beyond the 2026 eligibility date for making amendments.
The Airline Professionals Association "had a hole to dig out of and finally came to the realization that maybe there's a better way to approach this than the traditional, let's- go-after-the-company kind of thing. They came to us with an offer to extend the existing agreement to give potential customers some comfort that they wouldn't experience any labor disruptions in the future" he said.
Hete was referring to a short strike initiated by the union in 2016 during the first year of operations for Amazon's private airline and on the eve of the Black Friday shopping period. The strike disrupted fulfillment operations and soured Amazon on giving new business to ABX.
Amazon is expected to provide the first cargo jet in June and the remaining aircraft by year's end. The agreement includes an option for Amazon to sublease 10 more aircraft to ATSG after 2024.
Only four of the 40 B767 cargo jets currently flown by ATSG for Amazon are under the ABX brand. Air Transport International operates the other 36 aircraft ...