AP
FedEx Plans New Domestic China Service
Monday March 19, 7:00 pm ET
FedEx to Begin Next-Business-Day Domestic Express Service in China, Beginning Later This Month


NEW YORK (AP) -- FedEx Corp. said it will offer next-business-day domestic express service in China beginning later this month, hoping to tap further into China's booming economy.
FedEx said the service will begin May 28 and be fully operational by the following month.

"We are well-positioned to capitalize on China's transition to a consumer economy through its rapidly growing middle class," Michael L. Ducker, president of FedEx Express International, said in a statement.

FedEx's domestic China service will flow from its hub at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport in east China's Zhejiang province. The hub will have the initial capacity to sort up to 9,000 packages per hour.

Domestic carrier Okay Airways will provide air transportation, using three Boeing 737 jets.

Shares of FedEx, which entered the Chinese market in 1984, rose $1.34 to close at $112.48 on the New York Stock Exchange.

 

How many scoops of rice do you pay the F/O? Sorry if someone thinks I'm profilling.

 

I just hope them boys can't fly MD-11's....

 

Here's the company release on the news...................


Launch of Domestic Express Service in China

Today marks yet another significant milestone for
our business in China. As this message is being
sent to you, we are announcing at a signing
ceremony in Hangzhou the beginning of next-
business-day domestic express services in China. We will
begin operations on May 28 from our new FedEx China
Regional Hub in Hangzhou, and we will be fully
operational by June.

The new domestic services will offer China's
fast-growing market next-business-day, time- definite
delivery to 19 cities and day-definite service to
more than 200 cities throughout the country, all
backed by our money-back guarantee. Combined with
our company's industry-leading international
express services, the new domestic offering will
connect businesses both within China and around the
world.

This new service gives our customers seamless
access to reliable, time-definite express services
and gives us an expanded presence within China.

China's domestic air cargo market is predicted to
grow faster than any other domestic air cargo
market in the world, so we see enormous
opportunities in this dynamic marketplace. This new service
also enables second- and third-tier cities
throughout China to play a greater role in the country's
economic expansion.

FedEx Express is already a market leader in
China, and the country is an important part of our
global strategy. We currently connect more than 90
percent of China's GDP to the rest of the world.
Beginning March 25, FedEx Express will have rights
to 30 weekly flight frequencies between the US
and China-more than any other cargo airline. We
have plans to move our Asia Pacific hub to Guangzhou
in December 2008.

We are excited about this latest addition to our
portfolio of services. With our strong team of
nearly 6,000 employees in China, I know we will
enjoy continued success there.

Frederick W. Smith
Chairman
FedEx Corporation

 

Or MD-10sss

 

Good to see FedEx is not striving with quality. What, with a name like Okay Airways. [/sarcasm]

 

They beat out Marginal Freight and Almost There Forwarding.....

 

Just wait till we open the Saharan market with O-Tay airways.

 

They couldn't spell adequit. adequat. ade...

 

Does this trigger any kind of scope issues? I haven't read the contract on the issue (it's late and I'm knee deep in Bus training) but this doesn't sound like FedEx pilots flying FedEx freight. What's the companies loophole on this one? We can only fly it between countries but we don't have to fly it "in-country?"