Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (ATSG)

[downsideup]

I'm not sure that the situation here is fully "evolved" yet.

Airlines are struggling, everyone knows... Fuel costs, yada, yada, yada... A lean operation is necessary now, and those who can't get leaner faster than the competition can will eventually get forced into dealing with the difficulty in bankruptcy. It isn't like we haven't seen these cycles before in this industry.

Market reality is that the economy will adjust to higher fuel prices. There is an outstanding question of how long that will take, and those companies and financiers who game the markets and timing the best will survive and prosper more than those who can't.

In the interim, I see that there are a number of opportunities to take advantage of various situations that exist in unique ways. It isn't immediately obvious, but in considering possible business combinations you need to look both at the operational elements of the businesses and at the financial elements... along with asset utility with mobility, etc.

I think there is unique potential in some combinations that may not at first seem immediately obvious, but, some thinking might reveal benefits both in what they accomplish directly, and in what they impose on customers and competitors as market realities.

The obvious candidates include ATSG and XJT, also FRNTQ... with a long shot MESA if they can clean up a few debtor issues... I put more here:

http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=30076225