FedEx Looks to 777s to Deliver an Edge - Bloomberg
At a brainstorming session several years ago, FedEx Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Frederick W. Smith and his counterpart at Boeing Co. used a napkin to sketch a cargo version of the aircraft maker's 777 passenger jet.
Today Mr. Smith, who launched the overnight-delivery business when he founded FedEx in 1971, says the plane that emerged from those talks is crucial to his company's recovery from the recession.
FedEx hopes to use its growing fleet of long-range 777s to win business from competitors like United Parcel Service Inc. in the lucrative market for international package delivery, and to cater to the rising middle classes in India, China, and Brazil, which Mr. Smith says increasingly want the latest product delivered to their door within a day or two.
At a brainstorming session several years ago, FedEx Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Frederick W. Smith and his counterpart at Boeing Co. used a napkin to sketch a cargo version of the aircraft maker's 777 passenger jet.
Today Mr. Smith, who launched the overnight-delivery business when he founded FedEx in 1971, says the plane that emerged from those talks is crucial to his company's recovery from the recession.
FedEx hopes to use its growing fleet of long-range 777s to win business from competitors like United Parcel Service Inc. in the lucrative market for international package delivery, and to cater to the rising middle classes in India, China, and Brazil, which Mr. Smith says increasingly want the latest product delivered to their door within a day or two.
