REPORT: UPS, FEDEX REQUEST U.S. DOT TO SUSPEND DHL FLIGHTS

REPORT: UPS, FEDEX REQUEST U.S. DOT TO SUSPEND DHL FLIGHTS    Rival express operators United Parcel Service and FedEx Corp. have petitioned the U.S. Department of Transportation to suspend the flights and freight forwarding operations of DHL Worldwide Express, the Wall Street Journal reported today (on Wednesday).
   The two U.S.-based groups filed petitions with the Department of Transportation after Deutsche Post concluded an initial public offering and bought a majority of the shares in DHL International, the paper said, citing filings with the government agency.
   UPS alleged that DHL International and Deutsche Post have taken control of DHL Airways Inc., the paper said. DHL International is the Brussels-based arm of DHL, whereas DHL Airways is its U.S. operating arm. This would break U.S. laws restricting ownership of more than 25 percent of U.S. airlines by non-U.S. companies.
   Martin Dopychai, spokesman for Deutsche Post in Bonn, Germany, said that the allegation that DHL International and Deutsche Post control California-based DHL Airways “is absolute non-sense.” DHL International owns only 23 percent of DHL Airways and there is no plan to raise this stake, he said.
   “We know that, according to U.S. laws, no foreigner is allowed to own more than 25 percent of a U.S. air carrier,” he said.
   Dopychai said that UPS is trying to fight Deutsche Post “not in the markeplace, but by legal means.” He referred to earlier complaints filed against Deusche Post in Brussels with the European Commission.