FedEx Express

FedEx Express started as Federal Express, founded by Frederick W. Smith. He sketched an overnight air-cargo network in a Yale term paper. Overnight meant a package sent one evening would arrive the next morning. Legend says the paper earned only an average grade. Flying began on April 17, 1973, from Memphis. That first night, 14 Dassault Falcon 20 jets carried 186 packages to 25 cities.

The company pioneered the modern hub-and-spoke system, in which every package travels through one central airport overnight. In the desperate early days, Smith kept the firm alive by winning 27,000 dollars at blackjack in Las Vegas to pay a fuel bill. Airline deregulation in 1977 loosened federal rules. That let FedEx fly large jets, starting with Boeing 727s. It grew into the world's largest cargo airline.

It bought Flying Tiger Line in 1989 for global routes and TNT Express in 2016 for Europe. Its Memphis SuperHub sorts millions of packages nightly, keeping Memphis the busiest cargo airport in the Western Hemisphere. The purple-and-orange planes became famous through the film 'Cast Away.' FedEx retired its last MD-10 freighters in 2023. Smith stepped down as chief executive in 2022 after 49 years and died in 2025.

FedEx Express flies roughly 700 aircraft, the largest cargo fleet in the world. Boeing 777 freighters carry the long-haul load, with more on order, backed by a big fleet of Boeing 767-300 freighters for US and regional work. MD-11 freighters are retiring through the late 2020s.

Airbus A300-600 freighters still work main US routes. Hundreds of small feeder planes, mostly Cessna SkyCourier 408s and ATR 72-600 freighters, serve tiny markets for FedEx contractors. Orders for Boeing 777-8 Freighters set up the next decade of fleet renewal.