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Commitments and Contingencies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2013
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Lease Commitments
The Company leases six Boeing 767 aircraft, airport facilities, office space, maintenance facilities and certain equipment under operating leases. In December 2012, the Company entered into agreements with the Clinton County Port Authority ("CCPA") to construct and lease an aircraft hangar in Wilmington, Ohio, adjacent to the existing aircraft maintenance facility currently leased by the Company. The Company is acting as the construction agent for the CCPA and began construction of the 100,000 square foot aircraft hangar in January 2013. While the current facility houses aircraft as large as the Boeing 767, the new hangar will provide the capability of servicing aircraft as large as a Boeing 747 and a Boeing 777. The hangar is anticipated to cost approximately $15.7 million and is expected to take 12 to 14 months to complete. The CCPA is financing the construction of the hangar primarily through a State of Ohio bond program and a State of Ohio loan on incremental taxes. The costs incurred to build the hangar are included in "Property and equipment" and the amounts reimbursed through the State of Ohio and the CCPA are included in "Other liabilities" on the Company's balance sheet. The Company will begin to make lease payments for the hangar directly to the trustee for the State of Ohio beginning in 2014.
Aircraft Commitments
In August 2010, the Company entered into an agreement with M&B Conversions Limited and Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. ("IAI"), for the conversion by IAI of up to ten Boeing 767-300 series passenger aircraft to a standard freighter configuration during the 10-year term of the agreement. As of March 31, 2013, five such aircraft have completed the modification process and two Boeing 767-300 aircraft were undergoing modification to a standard freighter configuration. If the Company were to cancel the conversion program as of March 31, 2013, it would owe IAI approximately $2.0 million associated with engineering efforts and conversion part kits.
Since October 2010, the Company has entered into separate agreements with Precision Conversions, LLC (“Precision”) for the conversions of Boeing 757 passenger aircraft to a standard freighter configuration and a combi aircraft variant. The Boeing 757 combi variant developed by Precision incorporates 10 full cargo pallet positions along with seating for 42 passengers. As of March 31, 2013, one Boeing 757 had completed the modification process to a standard freighter configuration, one Boeing 757 aircraft was in the process of being converted to a standard freighter configuration and another one was in the combi conversion process. If the Company were to cancel the conversion programs as of March 31, 2013, it would owe Precision approximately $3.7 million associated with engineering efforts and conversion part kits.
Guarantees and Indemnifications
Certain leases and agreements of the Company contain guarantees and indemnification obligations to the lessor, or one or more other parties that are considered reasonable and customary (e.g. use, tax and environmental indemnifications), the terms of which range in duration and are often limited. Such indemnification obligations may continue after expiration of the respective lease or agreement.
Civil Action Alleging Violations of Immigration Laws
On December 31, 2008, a former ABX employee filed a complaint against ABX, a total of four current and former executives and managers of ABX, Garcia Labor Company of Ohio, and three former executives of the Garcia Labor companies, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The case was filed as a putative class action against the defendants, and asserts violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Practices Act (RICO). The complaint, which was later amended to include a second former employee plaintiff, seeks damages in an unspecified amount and alleges that the defendants engaged in a scheme to hire illegal immigrant workers to depress the wages paid to hourly wage employees during the period from December 1999 to January 2005.
On December 2, 2011, the parties agreed to settle this matter at a conference presided over by the Court. The settlement calls for ABX to pay to the plaintiffs a monetary amount, which management believes to be less than it would have cost for ABX to defend the case at trial. Once the plaintiffs have provided notice to the putative class members of the settlement, the Court will hold a hearing to consider any objections and seek final confirmation of the settlement.
Brussels Noise Ordinance
The Brussels Instituut voor Milieubeheer ("BIM"), a governmental authority in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium that oversees the enforcement of environmental matters, imposed four separate administrative penalties on ABX in the approximate aggregate amount of €0.4 million ($0.5 million) for numerous alleged violations of an ordinance limiting the noise caused by aircraft overflying the Brussels-Capital Region (which is located near the Brussels Airport) during the period from May 2009 through December 2010. ABX has exhausted its appeals with respect to the first administrative penalty, but is continuing to pursue the appeal of the remaining three.
The ordinance in question is controversial for the reason that it was adopted by the Brussels-Capital Region and is more restrictive than the noise limitations in effect in the Flemish Region, which is where the Brussels Airport is located. The ordinance is the subject of several court cases currently pending in the Belgian courts and numerous airlines have been levied fines thereunder.
Other
In addition to the foregoing matters, we are also currently a party to legal proceedings, including FAA enforcement actions, in various federal and state jurisdictions arising out of the operation of our business. The amount of alleged liability, if any, from these proceedings cannot be determined with certainty; however, we believe that our ultimate liability, if any, arising from the pending legal proceedings, as well as from asserted legal claims and known potential legal claims which are probable of assertion, taking into account established accruals for estimated liabilities, should not be material to our financial condition or results of operations.
Employees Under Collective Bargaining Agreements
As of March 31, 2013, the flight crewmember employees of ABX and ATI were represented by the labor unions listed below:
Airline
Labor Agreement Unit
Percentage of
the Company’s
Employees
ABX
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
15.1%
ATI
Airline Pilots Association
9.1%