There are 2 daily flights out of SJC that depart in the early evening. One goes to MEM, the other, an A306, goes to IND. I get MEM, but why IND? Is that another FDX hub and if so how does that logistically make sense since IND is relatively close to MEM?

 

 

Dude do you not get it? The answer was pretty simple in the last post that you asked the question.

Same reason Delta has a hub in DTW and MSP.

 

JamesAA

As you can see USMCDFX cant answer your question because he simply doesnt know. And,,,, doesnt he sound like just an awsome guy to fly with???

 

Probably for a similar reason that UPS does a sort in Rockford when Louisville is just a couple hundred miles south...which I would speculate to be diversification so that a single airport closure does not shut down your air operation.

 

Yes it is a hub, not a domicile for pilots.

It does seem close to Memphis, but originally they wanted a second Domestic Hub to be in St. Louis but the City passed on that as TWA was doing ok at the time. The idea there was that St. Louis and Memphis were so close they could flex the system either way, and/or truck easily between the two hubs. Indy stepped up after St. Louis turned them down.

Simply put, it was started as a reliever for Memphis, but has grown to be a sizeable hub, especially on the night side. Memphis is maxed out on the night side with room for growth only on the day side. I've heard that someday Indy may grow as large as Memphis but who knows. Indy is mostly Domestic but does have some International Flights.

Compared to the Pax side of the industry, it does seem odd to have a hub so close to another but it works on the cargo side. We actually have a really nice small Hub in Dallas/Fort Worth at Alliance. At one time there were a fair amount of flights there, was pulled back and has grown again, but is a shadow of itself. I don't know why it isn't used more, I've heard various reasons such as NAFTA to its proximity to Memphis.

 

James,
If you look at all of the cargo facilities past and present, A bunch are in that area. UPS- Louisville, DHL-CVG, Airborne-Wilmington, Emery, Dayton, Tigers-Rickenbacker. The proximity to I-70 allows for trucking and connects the Midwest with the east coast.

Memphis is overloaded with freight and needs a relief valve. Indy does a great job. Prior to Indy being a sort facility, when Fedex bought Tigers, they looked at expanding the sort facility at LCK. However, the port authority was full of it and wanted the moon. FedEx told them to pound sand and Indy was the final winner.

To basically answer your question, there just is that much freight.

Pakage

 

OK smart guy you answer the question.

And as to you standard internet reply, I bet you are a gem too.

Stupid questions get the answer deserved when already answered, especially if no thought is put into the question.

 

DUDE, why did the question bother you so much? I thought it was a great question and I've been at FDX for a long time. I agree with Whale that you must be a pleasure to fly with. Too many hubturns?

Thank you Olatex for a great answer. Thankfully, you're the type of person that I come in contact with mostly at FedEx.

 

Stupid people bother me, and I haven't hub turned for years.

Thanks for taking the time for your insightful post, go eat some more popcorn.