Airborne Express
Encyclopedia
Cargo airline
Cargo airlines are airlines dedicated to the transport of cargo. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines.-Logistics:...
. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, its hub
Airline hub
An airline hub is an airport that an airline uses as a transfer point to get passengers to their intended destination. It is part of a hub and spoke model, where travelers moving between airports not served by direct flights change planes en route to their destinations...
was at Wilmington, Ohio
Wilmington, Ohio
Wilmington is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 12,520 at the 2010 census. At city entrances from state routes, county roads, and U.S. highways, the city slogan of "We Honor Our Champions" is seen, accompanied by signs that highlight various...
.
Airborne was founded as the Airborne Flower Traffic Association of California in 1946 to fly flowers from the state of Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
to US Mainland.
Airborne Express developed special narrow containers which allowed the use of passenger jet aircraft without needing a large cargo door modification.
It was acquired by DHL
DHL
DHL Express is a division of the German logistics company Deutsche Post providing international express mail services. DHL is a world market leader in sea and air mail....
in 2003. Prior to the acquisition, it was the third largest private express delivery company in the United States.
History
Growth during Airborne's first 22 years was slow. Progress came slowly and competition was stiff. But in 1968, the airline started going through some changes. To begin with, Airborne of California merged with Pacific Air Freight of Seattle. The airline moved its headquarters there and changed its name to Airborne Freight Corporation.- 1980 - The airline changed its name to Airborne Express. After buying Midwest Air Charter, Airborne Express made history by buying the Clinton County Air Force BaseClinton County Air Force BaseClinton County Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located two nautical miles southeast of the central business district of Wilmington, a city in Clinton County, Ohio, United States.-History:...
in Wilmington and became the first airline in history to own and operate an airport.
- 1988 - Airborne started offering same day delivery after buying Sky Courier (now DHL SameDay).
- 1991 - Airborne received awards from 3 major companies, including VolvoVolvoAB Volvo is a Swedish builder of commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses and construction equipment. Volvo also supplies marine and industrial drive systems, aerospace components and financial services...
, and in 1992, the airline introduced Flight-Ready SM, a prepaid express letters and packs system.
- 1993 - Airborne introduce the Airborne Logistics System (ALS), which provided Airborne with warehousing and distribution services.
- 1994 - Airborne opened the Ocean Services Division, and ALS established the first new film distribution program for Hollywood since 1944. In addition, relations were established with VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
.
- 1995 - Airborne opened a second runway at Wilmington, and Boeing 767Boeing 767The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
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 500Fortune 500The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
list for the first time. Airborne's first of 30 total 767's arrived at Wilmington, and the airline won an award by The Business Consumer Guide.
- 1999 - Airborne@Home, an alliance with the United States Postal ServiceUnited States Postal ServiceThe United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
, was formed.
- 2000 - Carl Donaway became the company's new president, which lead 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 DHLDHLDHL Express is a division of the German logistics company Deutsche Post providing international express mail services. DHL is a world market leader in sea and air mail....
of BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. DHL is 100% owned by Deutsche PostDeutsche PostDeutsche Post AG, operating under the trade name Deutsche Post DHL, is the world's largest logistics group. With its headquarters in Bonn, the corporation has 467,088 employees in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide and generated revenue of € 51.48 billion in 2010...
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 AirABX AirABX Air, Inc., formerly Airborne Express, is a cargo airline headquartered at Wilmington Air Park in unincorporated Clinton County, Ohio, United States, near the City of Wilmington. ABX Air operates scheduled, ad hoc charter and ACMI freight services. It also provides flight support services and...
, 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.