![Airborne Express 767-200](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Airborne_Express_767-200.jpg)
Airborne Express was an express delivery company and
cargo airline
Cargo airlines (or air freight carriers, and derivatives of these names) are airlines mainly dedicated to the transport of cargo by air. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines.
In 2018, airline cargo traf ...
. Headquartered in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, its
hub was in
Wilmington, Ohio
Wilmington is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 12,660 at the 2020 census. At city entrances from state routes, county roads, and U.S. highways, the city slogan of "We Honor Our Champions" is ...
.
Airborne was founded as the Airborne Flower Traffic Association of California in 1946 to fly flowers from
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
to the US Mainland.
Airborne Express Inc. was acquired by
DHL
DHL is an American founded, German logistics company providing courier, package delivery and express mail service, which is a division of the German logistics firm Deutsche Post. The company group delivers over 1.8 billion parcels per year. DHL ...
in 2003. Prior to the acquisition, it rose to be the third largest private express delivery company in the United States, behind Federal Express (
FedEx Express
FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation, is a major American cargo airline based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. As of 2020, it is one of the world's largest airlines in terms of fleet size and freight tons flown. It is the name ...
) and
United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service (UPS, stylized as ups) is an American multinational corporation, multinational package delivery, shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company ...
(UPS).
History
Growth during Airborne's first 22 years was slow. Progress came slowly and competition was stiff. But in 1968, the airline known as Airbourne Freight Company, started going through some changes. The company Air Cargo Equipment Corporation developed and patented a special narrow container, known in the industry later as the "C" container (referring to its C shape), which allowed the more efficient use of space within large jet aircraft.
The containers also eliminated the need to modify the cargo doors, thus saving any air-freight company that used them substantial sums of money. It does appear that around this time, early on, that Airborne began using the more efficient containers. Known at that time as Airborne of California, the company merged with Pacific Air Freight of
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
. The newly formed airline moved its headquarters north to Seattle and changed its name to Airborne Freight Corporation. This was the name they kept until 1980.
Growth from 1980-2008
* 1980: The airline changed its name to Airborne Express Inc. after buying Midwest Air Charter.
Airborne Express made history by buying the
Clinton County Air Force Base
Wilmington Air Park, effective 2009-08-27. is a public-use airport located two nautical miles (3.7 km) southeast of the central business district of Wilmington, a city in Clinton County, Ohio, United States. While DHL had privately owned ...
in Wilmington, and became the first airline in history to own and operate an airport. A number of
NAMC YS-11
The NAMC YS-11 is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (NAMC), a Japanese consortium. It was the only post-war airliner to be wholly designed and manufactured in Japan until the development of t ...
twin-engined turboprop freight conversions were also purchased. From that point on, Wilmington, Ohio became the company's main freight-sorting hub.
* 1988: Airborne started offering same day delivery after buying Sky Courier (now DHL SameDay) as well as forming contracts with other private logistical contractors, in every city where they operated an office. The vehicles (mostly vans), and the drivers employed by these contracted companies, were all outfitted with the colors and uniforms of the rapidly recognizable Airborne colors: gray, red and black.
Around this time, Airborne Express offered a less expensive second-day package service, which was modeled after Federal Express' second-day, or "P2" (priority two) parcel service.
* 1991: Airborne received awards from three major companies, including
Volvo
The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
, and in 1992, the airline introduced Flight-Ready SM, a prepaid express letters and Express Pack
system.
* 1993: Airborne introduced the Airborne Logistics System (ALS), which provided Airborne with warehousing and distribution services.
* 1994: Airborne opened the Ocean Services Division, and along with ALS, helped establish the first new film distribution program for
Technicolor
Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades.
Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...
labs since 1944. In addition, relations were established with
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
.
* 1995: Airborne opened a second runway at Wilmington, and
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified on ...
jets were added to the fleet. The Airborne Alliance Group took care of many departments for the company.
* 1996: Airborne's stock tripled, which would later lead into a two for one stock split in February 1998. Formed that year was Airborne Brokerage Services.
* 1998: Airborne entered the
Fortune 500
The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...
list for the first time. Airborne's first of 30 total Boeing 767s arrived at Wilmington, and the airline won an award by
The Business Consumer Guide
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
.
* 1999: Airborne@Home, an alliance with the
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
, was formed.
* 2000:
Carl Donaway Carl may refer to:
*Carl, Georgia, city in USA
*Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
*Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name
*Carl², a TV series
* "Carl", an episode of tel ...
became the company's new president, which led to many managerial changes. Also that year, Airborne started a ground service for the first time in its history.
* 2001: Airborne Express launched Ground Delivery Service and 10:30 AM Delivery Service. Airborne.com launched some services of its own, including the Small Business Center and Airborne eCourier.
* August 14, 2003: Airborne shareholders approved the acquisition of Airborne Inc. by
DHL
DHL is an American founded, German logistics company providing courier, package delivery and express mail service, which is a division of the German logistics firm Deutsche Post. The company group delivers over 1.8 billion parcels per year. DHL ...
of
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. DHL is 100% owned by
Deutsche Post
The Deutsche Post AG, operating under the trade name Deutsche Post DHL Group, is a German multinational package delivery and supply chain management company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is one of the world's largest courier companies. T ...
World Net. The acquisition became effective the next day. DHL retained ownership of Airborne's ground operations and spun off its air operations as
ABX Air
ABX Air, Inc., formerly Airborne Express, is a cargo airline headquartered at Wilmington Air Park near the City of Wilmington, Ohio, USA. ABX Air operates scheduled, ad hoc charter and ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance) freight ...
, Inc.
* November 10, 2008: Global delivery company DHL announced that it is cutting 9,500 jobs as it discontinues air and ground operations within the United States. DHL said its DHL Express will continue to operate between the United States and other nations. But the company said it was dropping "domestic-only" air and ground services within the United States by Jan. 30 "to minimize future uncertainties". DHL's 9,500 job cuts are on top of 5,400 job reductions announced earlier this year. After these job losses, between 3,000 and 4,000 employees will remain at DHL's U.S. operations, the company said. The company also said it was shutting down all ground hubs and reducing its number of stations to 103 from 412.
Incidents and accidents
Airborne Express has experienced seven accidents, with six of them being hull losses, and two resulting in fatalities.
* On June 11, 1979, a
de Havilland Dove
The de Havilland DH.104 Dove is a British short-haul airliner developed and manufactured by de Havilland. The design, which was a monoplane successor to the pre-war Dragon Rapide biplane, came about from the Brabazon Committee report whic ...
operated by Midwest Air Charter on behalf on Airborne Express made a belly landing at
St. Louis Lambert International Airport
St. Louis Lambert International Airport is the primary commercial airport serving metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Commonly referred to as Lambert Field or simply Lambert, it is the largest and busiest airport in the state o ...
. Both crew members survived, but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair and written off.
* On June 19, 1980, a
Sud Aviation Caravelle VI-R made a hard landing at Atlanta Municipal Airport (now
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport , also known as Atlanta Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport, Atlanta Airport, Hartsfield, Hartsfield–Jackson and, formerly, as the Atlanta Municipal Airport, is the primary internatio ...
), causing its left main landing gear to collapse. The aircraft was caught in wake turbulence from a
Lockheed L-1011 TriStar
The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, also known as the L-1011 (pronounced "El-ten-eleven") and TriStar, is an American medium-to-long-range, wide-body trijet airliner built by the Lockheed Corporation. It was the third wide-body airliner to enter comme ...
. The four occupants (three crew members and one passenger) on board survived. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and written off.
* On February 5, 1985, a
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-15
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas.
After ...
crashed after takeoff from
Philadelphia International Airport
Philadelphia International Airport is the primary airport serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The airport served 19.6 million passengers annually in 2021, making it the 21st busiest airport in the United States. The airport is located from t ...
. Both pilots on board survived, but the aircraft was substantially damaged and written off.
* On August 20, 1987, Airborne Express Flight 124, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31, was back taxiing on Runway 09/27 at
Stewart International Airport
Stewart International Airport, officially New York Stewart International Airport , is a public/military airport in Orange County, New York, United States. It is in the southern Hudson Valley, west of Newburgh, south of Kingston, and southwest ...
during deteriorating weather condition, when an
Emery Worldwide
Emery Worldwide Airlines was a cargo airline, once one of the leading carriers in the cargo airline world. Its headquarters were located in Redwood City, California.
History
Emery started in 1946 and was the first freight forwarder to receive a ...
(operating as Rosenbalm Aviation Flight 074) Douglas DC-8-63F, landed on the same runway without clearance, The DC-9's tail was struck by the DC-8's wing. There were no fatalities and both aircraft were repaired and returned to service.
* On January 29, 1990, a
Cessna 208 Caravan
The Cessna 208 Caravan is a utility aircraft produced by Cessna.
The project was commenced on November 20, 1981, and the prototype first flew on December 9, 1982.
The production model was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA ...
crashed after takeoff from
Burlington International Airport
Burlington International Airport is a joint-use civil-military airport serving Burlington, Vermont, the state of Vermont's largest municipality. It is owned by the City of Burlington and located in the neighboring city of South Burlington, thr ...
. The pilot and the passenger, the aircraft's only occupants, were both killed. This was the first fatal accident for Airborne Express. The accident was caused by overloading of the aircraft and pilot error due to the aircraft not being de-iced before departure.
* On March 6, 1992, a
NAMC YS-11A
The NAMC YS-11 is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (NAMC), a Japanese consortium. It was the only post-war airliner to be wholly designed and manufactured in Japan until the development of ...
operating a training flight was damaged beyond repair and written off when it made a belly landing at the Wilmington-Airborne Airpark after the crew accidentally forgot to lower the landing gear. All three crew members on board survived.
* On December 22, 1996,
Flight 827, a
Douglas DC-8-63F, crashed in
Narrows, Virginia
Narrows, named for the narrowing of the New River (Kanawha River), New River that flows through the town, is a town in Giles County, Virginia, Giles County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,029 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 ce ...
while performing a
flight test
Flight testing is a branch of aeronautical engineering that develops specialist equipment required for testing aircraft behaviour and systems. Instrumentation systems are developed using proprietary transducers and data acquisition systems. D ...
. All six people on board were killed. This is the airline's deadliest accident.
See also
*
List of defunct airlines of the United States
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
ABX Air
ABX Air, Inc., formerly Airborne Express, is a cargo airline headquartered at Wilmington Air Park near the City of Wilmington, Ohio, USA. ABX Air operates scheduled, ad hoc charter and ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance) freight ...
References
{{Authority control
DHL
Defunct cargo airlines
Airlines established in 1980
Airlines disestablished in 2003
Defunct airlines of the United States
Defunct companies based in Seattle
Transportation companies of the United States
Cargo airlines of the United States
1946 establishments in the United States
Airlines based in Washington (state)