DHL Airways is converting six Airbus A300B4s from passenger to freighter, using the British Aerospace conversion. We acquired the aircraft from Airbus Industrie and then went through an exhaustive process to obtain technical and commercial proposals from both conversion companies.
This resulted in Airbus Industrie being uncomfortable because it was difficult for it to remain neutral, as two of its partners competed for our contract.
For a customer, the rivalry between BAe and Dasa was healthy in a free enterprise system, leading to competitive bids instead of "here's the price, take it or leave it".
The competitive pricing wasn't the only reason that DHL Airways selected BAe over Dasa. We needed a full service product - that is, the best technical solution, the ability to perform heavy maintenance while the aircraft is opened up for conversion, as well as having the benefit of ongoing maintenance and future conversion pricing.
The merger of BAe and Dasa cargo conversion companies will eliminate competition, drive prices up, slow down improvements in technology and place the customer at a disadvantage. Airbus must keep in mind that competition is good because, without it, the other choice could very well be Boeing.
Richard Cozzi
Vice-President Airline Operations
DHL Airways
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Source: Flight International
