FedEx Express has launched a new trans-Atlantic freighter flight from Paris to its Indianapolis hub via East Midlands Airport in the U.K., boosting capacity for exporters desiring next-day delivery to the U.S. market.
The flight, operated with a Boeing 777 aircraft, offers 626,000 pounds of extra parcel and e-commerce space per week to the FedEx (NYSE: FDX) trans-Atlantic network, including 160,000 pounds dedicated to the U.K. alone. The flight originates from Charles de Gaulle Airport four times per week and connects in East Midlands, FedEx’s U.K. subsidiary announced this week.
It is the third trans-Atlantic route operated by FedEx out of the U.K. and the fourth out of Paris.
FedEx said it selected East Midlands Airport for its new service because of its strategic location. The airport is within a four-hour truck drive of 90% of the population in England and Wales and is near the Midlands Golden Triangle, which has a high density of e-commerce businesses.
East Midlands is the U.K.’s largest dedicated air cargo facility. Besides FedEx, DHL Express, UPS (NYSE: UPS) and U.K. Royal Mail have operations at the airport. Online retail giant Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has a fulfillment center near EMA and operates several daily flights through partner ASL Airlines.
EMA handled 518,000 tons of cargo last year compared with 483,000 tons in 2020 and 408,000 tons per year before the pandemic, according to a mid-December projection by the airport operator.
‘‘The U.K. is the fourth-largest e-commerce market in the world, and the pandemic has driven even higher demand for online goods, including into the U.S.,” said Edward Clarke, vice president of operations U.K. for FedEx Express. “It also gives a boost to our operations in the Midlands, which is a major logistics center with outstanding connectivity across the U.K.”
FedEx Express has been investing in its European network as trade volumes grow and shippers experience shipping delays in other modes. Last fall, the airline boosted its intra-Europe capacity with the addition of three new flights and four upgrades in aircraft size, adding 463,000 pounds of weekly capacity on specific lanes within Europe. The new flights were added from FedEx’s Paris hub to Kyiv, Ukraine; Manchester, U.K.; and Stockholm.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.
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