FedEx Express

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FedEx Express, based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, is the world's largest airline in terms of aircraft, operating 669 planes. It surpasses the second largest airline,American Airlines by 16 aircraft, and DHL, the second-largest cargo airline in terms of fleet size, by 249 planes. FedEx Express is a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation and delivers packages and freight to more than 220 countries each day^[1]. Its headquarters are in Memphis with it's "SuperHub" located at Memphis International Airport with regional hubs at Indianapolis, Fort Worth, Oakland, Newark, Anchorage, Paris, Subic Bay, Toronto, and Miami.^[2] FedEx Express has hubs under construction at Greensboro^[3] and Guangzhou, China.

[edit] History

FedEx Express was established in 1971 as Federal Express and started operations on April 17, 1973. Federal Express was founded by Fred Smith, chairman of Federal Express Corporation (now known as FedEx Corporation) and began operations with 14 Dassault Falcon 20s from Memphis International Airport that connected 25 U.S. cities. The air cargo deregulation in 1977 allowed Federal Express to grow rapidly and as a result use larger aircraft. Following several international acquisitions Federal Express began overseas operations in 1984 with services to Europe and Asia ^[1].

The "Federal Express" name was officialy dropped in 2000 and replaced with "FedEx" which was an unofficial abbreviation for Federal Express. The "Express" was added to FedEx to represent the divsion of FedEx Corporation as the company began to offer other shipping services.

In 2000, FedEx Express and the United States Postal Service signed a 7-year contract to transport all Express Mail and Priority Mail. The USPS contract has recently been extended until 2012 and USPS continues to be the largest customer of FedEx Express.

In 2005, FedEx Express began expansion of its Indianapolis hub, projected to be completed in 2010. After the expansion Indianapolis will be FedEx's second largest hub.

In 2008, FedEx Express will open it's new Asian-Pacific hub at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in southern China. The new hub will allow FedEx to increase service in China.

[edit] Destinations

FedEx Express operates the following freight services (at January 2005)^{[citation needed]}:

• Domestic freight destinations: Albany, Anchorage, Atlanta, Baltimore, Billings, Baton Rouge, Boise, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Colorado Springs, Columbus,Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Des Moines, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Grand Forks, Grand Island, Great Falls, Greensboro, Hartford, Honolulu, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Lafayette, Los Angeles, Manchester, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St Paul, Nashville, Newburgh, New Orleans, Newark, Oakland, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Ontario, Orange County, Peoria, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, OR, Raleigh/Durham, Reno, Roanoke, Richmond, Rochester, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Sioux Falls, Spokane, St Louis, Tampa, Tallahassee and Washington.
• International freight destinations: Algiers, Aguadilla, Almaty, Athens, Bangkok, Basel/Mulhouse, Beijing, Bogotá, Calgary, Cebu, Copenhagen, Dubai, Frankfurt, Guadalajara, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kaohsiung, Kuala Lumpur, London, Lisbon, Madrid, Manchester (UK), Manila, Milan, Monterrey, Montijo, Montreal, Mumbai, Munich, Osaka, Ottawa, Panama City, Paris, Penang, San Pedro Sula, San Juan, São Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Singapore, Stockholm, Subic Bay, Setúbal, Sydney, Taipei, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Toluca, Toronto, Valencia, Vancouver, Warsaw, and Winnipeg.

[edit] Fleet

FedEx Express operates the world's largest civil air fleet with 669 aircraft:^[4]

FedEx Express had ordered ten Airbus A380 freighters, with options on ten more. FedEx was to be the launch airline for the Airbus A380-800F and planned to introduce the first aircraft to service in August 2008 for use on routes between hubs in the United States and Asia. The aircraft ordered were to be delivered according to the following schedule: three in 2008, three in 2009, three in 2010, and one in 2011. With A380 delays of more than two years, FedEx cancelled these orders^[5] and replaced them with an order from Boeing for fifteen 777 Freighters (with an option for fifteen more), to be delivered in 2009 through 2011. FedEx has stated they will consider the A380F when Airbus is less constrained by construction developments.

Following its annual shareholders meeting, FedEx revealed plans to acquire 90 Boeing 757-200 aircraft at a cost of US$2.6 billion to replace the ageing Boeing 727 fleet.^{[citation needed]} Converted 757s have recently started to enter the fleet.

The very first Dassault Falcon 20C delivered to FedEx (N8FE) is on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum.

On the 12 July 2007 FedEx took delivery of the last A300/A310 built^[6].

[edit] Incidents and accidents

• Flight 14
• Flight 597
• Flight 647
• Flight 705
• Flight 7145

[edit] NASCAR Sponsorship

In 2005, FedEx became a sponsor in NASCAR's NEXTEL Cup Series, on the Joe Gibbs Racing #11 Chevrolet. Driver Jason Leffler piloted the car through the first 19 races, after poor finishes and several crashes, he was released from the ride. J. J. Yeley, Terry Labonte, and Denny Hamlin finished out the 2005 season. In 2006, the car sported a new look with rookie driver Denny Hamlin, who finished third in the standings, received Rookie of the Year honors, and won both races at Pocono Raceway. Denny Hamlin continues to pilot the #11 through the 2007 season, he currently has 1 win and is 3rd in the point standings.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• FedEx
• FedEx Express Facts
• FedEx Racing
• FedEx Express (Partial) Fleet Detail at Planespotters.net