ABX buys Boeing 767 for air freight conversion

ABX buys Boeing 767 for air freight conversion Cargo airline ABX Air has purchased a Boeing 767-223 passenger aircraft for conversion to a freighter for service in 2008.
   The purchase, announced Tuesday, is estimated at $20 million, including conversion costs. The aircraft will be deployed in ABX’s ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance) business.
   Wilmington, Ohio-based ABX Air operates 35 Boeing 767 freighters. Six of these aircraft are dedicated to ABX’s ACMI business, the remainder are operated for ABX’s largest customer DHL. Including aircraft still being modified, ABX Air expects to have 42 Boeing 767 aircraft in service by early 2008.
   Since 2005, DHL, working with ABX, has invested nearly $70 million to establish its West Coast Distribution Facility in Riverside. The facility is located on the site of the former March Air Reserve Base, about 100 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.
   The Riverside facility is DHL’s sixth U.S. International Gateway and the firm's third in California. In addition to Riverside, DHL maintains U.S. operations in Wilmington, Ohio; Miami; New York; Los Angeles; and San Francisco.
   ABX Air operates 17 hubs throughout the United States and provides airlift capacity and sort facility staffing to DHL. The firm also provides charter, maintenance and package handling services.