Conrad Kalitta - shop till you drop!

[mw6789]

I have a customer who is building a Bonneville car--he manages an airplane salvage operation in Arkansas. He can tell some pretty amazing stories about the planes they buy and part. He says most are just not as fuel efficient as they need to be and are worth more for parts. I have an invite to tour his operation, and plan to as soon as I have the time. I imagine after buying airplane parts, that top fuel stuff must look cheap to Conrad LOL

 

[Huge]

I have a customer who is building a Bonneville car--he manages an airplane salvage operation in Arkansas. He can tell some pretty amazing stories about the planes they buy and part. He says most are just not as fuel efficient as they need to be and are worth more for parts. I have an invite to tour his operation, and plan to as soon as I have the time. I imagine after buying airplane parts, that top fuel stuff must look cheap to Conrad LOL

I do not remember the cost, but I heard what he spends in jet fuel a year, and it would send the average person in to cardiac arrest.

 

[yoda]

... Maybe they've got a big contract in place and they need the additional aircraft too? I will say that historically Connie usually comes out on the winning end of a transaction like that though. Good for him & his employees. More jobs for Michigan - and that's a very good thing.

Connie does quite a bit of government work, doesn't he?

And right now, there's lots of things moving around and leaving certain areas on the other side of the globe....

 

[Toejam]

joe, delta is now the world's largest airline with their recent acquisition of
northwest - their international footprint is now increased with
northwest's former routes to asia and the far east; i do not believe
'struggling' is an appropriate term.

'cheap' is not the word i would select either; every airline hauls freight to one
degree or another - i would be interested to know.........

- did the sale come to kalitta? or did kalitta seek it out?
- did kalitta also acquire freight contracts from delta?
- what prompted delta to sell this portion of the business?
- were these (12) aircraft even repainted in delta livery? i would guess not

whatever the case - this is a great story - wish i knew more about it.

Mike I thought American was the World's Largest? And I'm willing to bet a 15-20 Year Old 7-4 is about 1/3 the cost of a new one! I have no idea how old these planes are, but Connie probably wouldn't have spent the Money had he not liked what he saw!

 

[none]

Connie does quite a bit of government work, doesn't he?

And right now, there's lots of things moving around and leaving certain areas on the other side of the globe....

Good point Martin!!
Without being too political, I will say we are definitely in "Big Government" and "Military Fallback" mode at the same time........That should bode well for Conrad

 

[mick]

Mike I thought American was the World's Largest? And I'm willing to bet a 15-20 Year Old 7-4 is about 1/3 the cost of a new one! I have no idea how old these planes are, but Connie probably wouldn't have spent the Money had he not liked what he saw!

you might be rite about american........remember reading somewhere something
about delta having most destinations worldwide???? could be wrong.

looked up a kalitta tail # from a photo on airliner.net not too long ago.
connie was plane's 3rd owner - mfg. date 1982.
would be neat to know how old some of the airframes are currently in service;
whether revised with latest avionics and engines or not?

 

[mick]

Kalitta Air and DHL..........connection?

 

[Dubs]

Kalitta Air and DHL..........connection?

No Doubt in my mind. The DHl Funny car (this is just my GUESS) has got to be associated with Kalitta Air. AKA DHL pays a little more of a premium to Kalitta Air, and then Kalitta Air uses that money to run the FC. Again, just an educated guess though...dont take my word for it.

 

[BaldyLochs]

Wow, I'm impressed with your knowledge of NWA - and B747's! I knew several people pretty high up on the DTW food chain for a while. Heartbreaking to see them go, and I know it's a very sore spot with alot of former NW employees. What's great is that Mr. Kalitta is deeply involved with the operation on a daily basis. He personally can make things happen, when virtually everyone else out there can't. And Connie himself is often involved with the trip quoting, planning and negotiation. He's in it to make money and near as I can tell - that's usually not a problem!

 

[mick]

No Doubt in my mind. The DHl Funny car (this is just my GUESS) has got to be associated with Kalitta Air. AKA DHL pays a little more of a premium to Kalitta Air, and then Kalitta Air uses that money to run the FC. Again, just an educated guess though...dont take my word for it.

you mean a premium paid to Kalitta for hauling air freight for them (DHL)?
that's exactly what i'm wondering if the two companies partner at all?

 

[Dubs]

you mean a premium paid to Kalitta for hauling air freight for them (DHL)?
that's exactly what i'm wondering if the two companies partner at all?

Yes, exactly

 

[.]

Go Connie! I wish him nothing but success.

 

[XPilot]

I've been trying to stay out of aviation, but with the way my luck has been trying to change careers I might have to send him my resume!

I think I heard 6 or 7 of those new frames would be flown, the rest used for spares. Some are early build -200s with lots of time on them.