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WILMINGTON — Air Transport Services Group Inc.'s third-quarter net income doubled to $5 million, or 8 cents per share, as the company prepares for business after the expected loss in 2009 of its biggest customer, DHL.

Net income for the same quarter last year was $2.4 million, or 4 cents per share. Revenues for the latest quarter, ended Sept. 30, totaled $403.1 million — including $276.8 million from DHL — up from $286 million a year ago, the company reported on Friday, Nov. 14.

For the first nine months of this year, Air Transport had net income of $8.2 million, or 13 cents per share, on revenue of $1.2 billion.

Shares of Air Transport (NasdaqGS: ATSG) were unchanged Friday at 16 cents. That is far below the past-year high of $7.24 per share.

DHL already is reducing the cargo sorting and flying work it allocates to ABX Air, an Air Transport cargo airline which operates DHL's U.S. freight hub near Wilmington. DHL has said it will close its ground freight operation at Wilmington after Jan. 30, 2009, and hopes to hire United Parcel Service by the end of this year to replace ABX Air in handling DHL's U.S. air cargo sorting and transport.

DHL said it will sharply reduce the express delivery services it offers within the United States after Jan. 30 to cut its $1 billion-plus annual losses in this market.

"While we understand DHL's situation, we are saddened that its decision will cost the jobs of most of the 7,000 remaining ABX Air employees who have loyally supported DHL in Wilmington and several other locations," said Joe Hete, president and chief executive officer of Air Transport.

ABX Air has lost at least 1,300 jobs at Wilmington since May due to the DHL cutbacks and regular attrition, ABX Air has said.

At the end of 2007, Air Transport acquired Cargo Holdings International Inc. and its two cargo airlines, Air Transport International and Capital Cargo International Airlines. Revenues from those two airlines have boosted Air Transport's results this year.

Because of the DHL cutbacks, ABX Air has exercised its contractual right to sell back to DHL a total of 14 DC-9 aircraft for $3.7 million. ABX said it expects to sell back as many as 40 more of the planes to DHL for a total of up to $11 million as they are removed from DHL service during the first half of 2009.

Air Transport will use that cash to convert its Boeing 767 freighter aircraft for charter or leasing service for other customers as the company prepares for business in the post-DHL era, Hete said.