Airborne Express

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Airborne
ABF dba Airborne Express
Airborne Freight Company (ABF)
Pacific Air Freight
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FateAcquired
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HeadquartersSeattle, Washington
Key people
Holt W. Webster
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SubsidiariesABX Air (1980–2003)
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Airborne Express was the trade name, from 1985 onward, for a United States express delivery company sold to DHL in 2003. At the time it was sold, Airborne Express was the number three domestic package express company after FedEx and United Parcel Service.

The Airborne name originated as Airborne Flower Traffic, a California-based air freight forwarder incorporated in 1947, which in 1965 became Airborne Freight. However, management originated with Pacific Air Freight, a Seattle-based air freight forwarder that took over Airborne Freight in 1968, creating a new Delaware-incorporated Airborne Freight Corporation (ABF). After 1977 US air cargo deregulation and facing the fast growth of Federal Express, the company made the transition from air freight forwarder to integrated overnight package delivery, buying cargo airline Midwest Air Charter in 1980, including the airline's Wilmington, Ohio hub. Airborne survived the overnight package delivery shakeout of the 1980s to remain the number three service through its 2003 sale to DHL. At the end of 2000, ABF finally changed its name to Airborne Express, Inc., in conjunction with creation of a holding company simply called Airborne, Inc.

As of 2026, Airborne's former airline subsidiary, ABX Air, remains in operation, having been spun out at the time of the 2003 merger due to DHL's foreign ownership.

History

Airborne Freight of California

John D. McPherson and partners incorporated San Francisco-based Airborne Flower Traffic (AFC) in California 23 April 1947.[2][3] AFC was one of the first five air freight forwarders issued letters of registration in 1948 by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB),[4] the now-defunct Federal agency that, at the time, tightly regulated almost all US commercial air transport. As an indirect air carrier, Airborne Flower Traffic fell under the purview of the CAB. AFC changed its name to Airborne Flower and Freight Traffic in 1948 and to Airborne Freight Corporation in 1965,[5] the same year it went public.[6] AFC was the clear number two air freight forwarder (after Emery Air Freight) by tons shipped in the early 1950s.[7] In 1958 it was number two by revenue in the industry after Emery Air Freight.[8] At the time of its merger with Pacific Air Freight, AFC remained number two, but was in financial trouble,[9] in part due to a poorly-programmed computer installation.[10]

Pacific Air Freight

Philip Gruger started Pacific Air Freight (PAF) 1949;[11] it received its CAB authorization as an air freight forwarder in 1950. Holt W. Webster, a former Northwest Airlines freight employee, joined Gruger in 1951, making it a two-person operation.[12] Its original business was arranging air transport of produce and contractor equipment to Alaska.[13] For many years, PAF was a more modest operation than AFC. For instance, in 1956, PAF revenues were $400K versus AFC's $2.1 million.[14] PAF grew quickly after Webster became president in 1962. In 1965, Airborne's forwarding revenue was $16.3 million (number 2 in the industry), PAF was number 7 at $6.4 million (number 1 was Emery Air Freight at $49.7 million).[15] By 1967, PAF had $23.1 million in revenue vs $25 million for Airborne.[16]

AFC was PAF's main competitor; the Justice Department objected to the 1968 merger on anti-trust grounds, but the CAB approved it on the basis that AFC seemed likely to collapse without the merger. The two companies merged into a new Delaware-incoporated entity, Airborne Freight Corporation (ABF).[9] Holt W. Webster would remain CEO until 1984, seeing the organization through its transition into an integrated package express company.[12] John D. McPherson became a director of the new company and the largest shareholder until close to the end of his life in 1987.[17]

Transition to package express company

ABF remained the number two air freight forwarder through 1977 US air cargo deregulation. In that year, Emery had $340 million in revenue while in second place was ABF with $150 million.[18] In October 1976, ABF started chartering aircraft from Midwest Air Charter (MAC), a small Ohio-based freight airline best known, to that point, for flying checks for the United States Federal Reserve Bank.[19]Script error: No such module "labelled list hatnote". In the 1970s, passenger airlines started withdrawing freighter aircraft from their fleets, leaving air freight forwarders without the overnight cargo flights that they needed. ABF was thus driven to chartering capacity from MAC. The need for ABF's own freight flights only increased with the advent of Federal Express and 1977 US air cargo deregulation and ABF came to increasingly rely on MAC.[20] In September 1978, MAC bought the airport at Wilmington, Ohio to use as its hub.[21] In December 1978 ABF bought 9.5% of MAC.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. In 1979, ABF bought its own aircraft for MAC to fly.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. By year end 1979, MAC had 54 aircraft and was flying to 76 airports and accounted for over half of ABF's shipments.[19] Finally in 1980 ABF bought out MAC entirely.[22] ABF renamed MAC to "Airborne Express."Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.

Airborne Express

The 1980s saw both the development and rationalization of the US package express business as Federal Express (today's FedEx), expanded and competitors, including ABF, responded to it. In the early 1980s, other than the United States Postal Service (USPS), significant US domestic package express companies included Federal Express, Emery Worldwide, Purolator and ABF. In 1982 United Parcel Service (UPS), which had a ground package delivery business and had traditionally offered a second-day air delivery service, entered the overnight delivery service. By 1986, Purolator and Emery were losing money on small package express.[23] Emery bought Purolator in 1987 to reinforce its overnight market share, but the merger was unsuccessful[24] and by 1989 Emery withdrew from small package delivery.[25] ABF ended the 1980s as a third-player survivor after much larger FedEx and UPS.[26]

In 1985, ABF adopted "Airborne Express" as its trade name. In 1989, ABF renamed its airline to ABX Air to reduce the chance of confusion between the carrier and its parent. By 1990, the package express business (outside of USPS) consolidated to Federal Express, UPS and ABF. In December 2000, the company restructured, with Airborne, Inc. becoming a holding company, the former ABF now called Airborne Express, Inc. and ABX Air becoming a holding company subsidiary.[27] In 2003, DHL agreed to buy Airborne for $1.05 billion (over $1.8 billion in 2026 terms), part of a strategy by which DHL would attempt to become a third large domestic US package express company. At the time, respective domestic overnight package delivery shares of Airborne, FedEx and UPS were estimated to be 19%, 46% and 33%.[28] The transaction closed 15 August, as part of which ABX Air was spun out to shareholders due to DHL's foreign ownership.[29]

Business model

In 2002, Airborne, Inc. had annual revenues of $3.3 billion[1] versus FedEx's of $20.6 billion (year ending May)[30] and UPS of $31.3 billion.[31] As a much smaller competitor, the company survived in part by taking a low-cost approach. Some aspects of that model included:

  • ABF modified its aircraft itself and performed all its own aircraft maintenance, unlike FedEx or UPS.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.
  • In 1985, ABF developed a custom aircraft freight container (the "C-container," named after an employee) that could be loaded through a standard aircraft passenger door, eliminating the need to modify ABF's aircraft with large main-deck cargo doors, saving significant capital expense.[32] The company patented the C-container[33] and continued to use such containers when it acquired Boeing 767 widebody aircraft in the late 1990s.[34]
  • Focusing on corporate accounts, where it could make pickups of large numbers of packages at once.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.
  • Non-comprehensive service. Airborne did not offer 10:30am deliveries, for instance. Only in 2001 did it offer ground delivery.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.
  • Rely on partners for international deliveries.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.

The name Airborne Express

As outlined above, over its history the company used the name "Airborne Express" three times, summarized here for clarity. Airborne Express, Inc. was first the name ABF gave to its airline subsidiary (previously Midwest Air Charter) from 1980 to early 1989 (when it was renamed ABX Air). In 1985, ABF started to also use "Airborne Express" as a trade name. In late 2000, the former ABF entity was re-named Airborne Express, Inc. in conjunction with a new holding company called Airborne, Inc.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Airborne, Inc. 2002 10-K (Report). Securities Exchange Commission. 14 March 2003. p. 14. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Search results for Airborne Freight Corporation". California Secretary of State Business Search. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Airborne Flower Group Files Here". Redwood City Tribune. 24 (311): 2. 26 April 1947.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Court Delays CAB Exemption Order". Aviation Week. 49 (22): 36. 29 November 1948. ISSN 0005-2175.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."History button under Search results for Airborne Freight Corporation". California Secretary of State Business Search. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Airborne Freight Corporation public offering advertisement". San Francisco Chronicle. 101 (252): 61. 9 September 1965. ISSN 1932-8672.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Air Freight Forwarder Case". Civil Aeronautics Board Reports. 21. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office: 599. June–October 1955. hdl:2027/coo.31924064579943.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Air Cargo Gains Minimized by Strikes". Airlift. 22 (24): 48. May 1959.
  9. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Airborne Freight-Pacific Air Freight Merger". Civil Aeronautics Board Reports. 49. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office: 849–853. August–December 1968. hdl:2027/uc1.b2939181.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Holt W. Webster (subject) (1985). Interview with Holt Webster #5 (video). Seattle: Museum of History & Industry. Event occurs at 18:00. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Warren, James R. (1981). King County and its Queen City, Seattle. Woodland Hills, California: Windsor. p. 228. ISBN 9780897810388.
  12. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.1984 Annual Report (Report). Airborne Express. 1984. p. 8. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Holt W. Webster (subject) (1985). Interview with Holt Webster #6 (video). Seattle: Museum of History & Industry. Event occurs at 3:00. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."International Airfreight Forwarder Investigation". Civil Aeronautics Board Reports. 27. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office: 754. June–October 1955. hdl:2027/coo.31924064579943.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.An Economic Study of Air Freight Forwarding (Report). Civil Aeronautics Board. May 1968. p. 149. hdl:2027/uc1.c101364587.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Air Freight Firms Set Merger Plan". Los Angeles Times. LXXXVII (153): II-9. 4 May 1968. ISSN 0458-3035.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."John D. McPherson". Oakland Tribune. 114 (149): C-15. 29 May 1987. ISSN 0745-3841.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Supplement to the Handbook of Airline Statistics, Calendar Years 1977 and 1978 (Report). Civil Aeronautics Board. November 1979. p. 138. hdl:2027/osu.32435025695669.
  19. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Airborne Annual Report 1979 (Report). Airborne Freight Corporation. 1979. p. 5. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Holt W. Webster (subject) (1985). Interview with Holt Webster #5 (video). Seattle: Museum of History & Industry. Event occurs at 2:25–6:00. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Air cargo company buys facilities at air park". Wilmington News-Journal. 139 (292): 1. 29 September 1978. ISSN 2836-9297.
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Annual Report (Report). Airborne Freight Corporation. 1980. p. 17. Note G. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hill, Charles W. L. (2004). "The Evolution of the Air Express Industry, 1973–2002" (PDF). Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach. Boston: Houghton Miflin. pp. C435–C437. ISBN 0618309535.
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Emery Asked To Search for New Suitor". New York Times. CXXXVIII (47823): D1. 28 March 1989. ISSN 0362-4331.
  25. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Express Mail Contract: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Postal Personnel and Modernization of the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, House of Representatives, One Hundred-First Congress, First Session, August 3, 1989 (Report). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1990. p. 143. hdl:2027/pur1.32754076769540.
  26. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hill, Charles W. L. (2004). "Airborne Express in 2002". Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach. Boston: Houghton Miflin. p. C446. ISBN 0618309535.
  27. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.2000 Annual Report (Report). Airborne Express. 2000. p. 27. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  28. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."DHL buys Airborne for $1.05 billion". Cincinnati Enquirer. 162 (350): D1. 26 March 2003. ISSN 2575-5706.
  29. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."DHL Express closes deal on ground-express service". Olympian. 113 (169): C8. 16 August 2003. ISSN 0746-7575.
  30. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.FedEx Corporation 2002 10-K (Report). Securities Exchange Commission. 19 July 2002. p. 35. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  31. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.United Parcel Service, Inc. 2002 10-K (Report). Securities Exchange Commission. 6 March 2003. p. 15. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  32. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Annual Report 1985 (Report). Airborne Express. 1985. p. 8. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  33. ^ Page Template:Citation/styles.css has no content.US patent 4747504A, Albert D. Wiseman, Bernard J. Roke, John M. Kachman, Gregg A. Delker, William F. Corcoran, Phillip A. Boshaw, Gordon J. Sanden, Jr., "Aircraft cargo container", published Script error: No such module "auto date formatter"., assigned to DHL Express USA 
  34. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Airfreight Market Is Expanding". Aviation Week and Space Technology. 146 (2): 51. 13 January 1997. ISSN 0005-2175.

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