UPS, FedEx urge US to drop Astar deadline
FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service on Monday asked the U.S. Department of Transportation to lift the Dec. 1 deadline for an administrative law judge’s recommendations on the ownership of Astar Air Cargo, formerly DHL Airways. The big U.S. express carriers complained that two U.S.-based subsidiaries of archrival Deutsche Post World Net have failed to comply with the judge’s order to produce documents related to the investigation into whether Astar is illegally controlled by Deutsche Post.
With the hearing scheduled to resume on Wednesday, attorneys for FedEx and UPS said they would be left with two options in questioning witnesses from DHL Holdings (USA) Inc. and DHL Worldwide Express Inc. The first would be “to go on a total fishing expedition,” with the result that they would probably not be able to elicit testimony that would demonstrate Deutsche Post’s alleged control over Astar, the Miami-based all-cargo airline. The second option would be to refrain from questioning the DHL witnesses, which would in effect sanction DHL’s conduct, according to FedEx and UPS. Even if the two DHL entities turned over the documents today, that would not FedEx and UPS sufficient time to review them, the companies said.
John Fellows, chairman, president, and chief executive of DHL Holdings, and William J. Roure, treasurer of DHL Worldwide Express, and are the two DHL witnesses scheduled to testify on Wednesday
FedEx and UPS said the administrative law judge, Burton Kolko, indicated in a conference call that he would like more time to conduct his investigation, but that he was constrained by the DOT’s deadline.
Meanwhile, the European Commission has asked Copenhagen to investigate the ties between UPS and a Danish airline in an attempt to establish whether the U.S. delivery giant has effective control over the carrier, a finding that could cost the airline its license.
The EC’s request comes after Deutsche Post asked European Union Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio to investigate whether the partnership between UPS and Star Air of Denmark was comparable to that between its own DHL unit and Astar.
The battle among the three big express giants could complicate bilateral aviation talks between the U.S. and the European Union. Negotiators for the two sides met in Washington last week “in a cordial and cooperative atmosphere,” according to a DOT spokesman. The two sides agreed in principle on a range of issues that should be included in a comprehensive aviation agreement, including coverage of scheduled and charter services for both passenger and cargo operations.
The bilateral talks are set to resume in Brussels on Dec. 8.
