Summer Sunrise – FedEx A300-600F

It may look like sunset, but in fact this Airbus is taking off only moments after dawn. Nearby wildfires gave the morning sun here a glow it usually only gets at the end of the day, as this FedEx A300 lifts off from Seatac destined for a short run to Oakland, California. This aircraft – N659FE (msn: 757), named “Jayden” after the child of a FedEx employee, as many of the carrier’s aircraft are – was built in 1995 as a Freighter for FedEx and delivered on July 31 of that year.

It may only have been 7 A.M. when this photo was taken, but this was already the third cycle of the day for this aircraft. it had flown from Charlotte to Indianapolis and then Indianapolis to Seattle during the night.

Although some FedEx routes entail long stops during the day, some others call for almost constant activity. Once arriving at Oakland, the aircraft sat the rest of the day before returning to Seattle in the afternoon for an overnight stay.

On September 27, we’ll be hosting a teleconference to discuss trends in the U.S. Domestic Air Freight & Express Industry and preview ACMG’s newly released Air Freight & Express Performance Analysis 2012, Volume 2, US Domestic (nineteenth edition).