FedEx visionary Fred Smith led freighter development

FedEx this month took delivery of its twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth Cessna 408 SkyCouriers (408-0042 and -0043), the latest additions to the FedEx Feeder fleet that the late Fred Smith, founder and executive chairman of FedEx, had an instrumental role in building. “Fred was personally involved in the selection and evolution of all of the Feeder fleet,” Tim Komberec, chief executive and chairman of Empire Airlines, told Cargo Facts . “It was his vision of having a homogenized fleet of aircraft all branded as FedEx Feeders.” [caption id="attachment_57290027" align="alignnone" width="1826"] Empire Airlines began SkyCourier operations for FedEx in 2023. (Courtesy/Empire Airlines)[/caption] Smith founded FedEx in 1971 and served as CEO until June 2022, when Raj Subramaniam assumed the role and Smith became executive chairman. Smith died on June 21 . Hayden, Idaho-based Empire Airlines is one of FedEx’s CMI operators for its regional turboprop fleet and will soon put unit 408-0042 into service on behalf of the integrator. Empire also operates three new ATR 72-600Fs and around a dozen older ATRs for FedEx. “Becoming a FedEx Feeder carrier under Fred’s vision allowed us to evolve from a small Part 135 operator to becoming a larger, more robust 121 operator with the financial ability to provide safe, legal and highly performing services,” Komberec said. “Our culture is based on these principals.” Anchor customer for SkyCourier, ATR 72-600F Since joining Empire in 2000, Komberec had several opportunities to meet with Smith in both business and social settings, the most recent being a meeting in Miami a couple of months ago, he said. Smith “was always full of questions about operations and aircraft that might be suitable for the Feeder operations,” he said. “Fred had a very good memory, and it behooved a person to remember what you had told him in previous meetings.” FedEx is the largest customer of the SkyCourier program; of the twenty-nine units it has received to date, the company has assigned: Thirteen to Denver, N.C.-based Mountain Air Cargo , Nine to Billings, Mont.-based Corporate Air ; and Seven to Empire. FedEx is also the only customer of ATR’s production ATR 72-600F, with twenty-four in its fleet and at least sixteen more to come. “I can probably speak to the ATR 72-600 factory freighter becoming a reality because of Fred and his team,” Komberec said. “His hands were all over every program that came to be.” Smith was instrumental to the design and success of ATR freighters because of his suggestion to make the cross section of the maindeck cargo compartment wider, ATR told Cargo Facts. Growing with 727s Beyond the turboprop feeder fleet, FedEx is the largest operator of 757, 767-300 and 777 freighters. The company was previously also the largest operator of 727 freighters. Thanks to airline deregulation in 1977, that aircraft type enabled FedEx to grow from a small fleet of Dassault Falcon 20s to an overnight express delivery giant. “For Boeing, Fred Smith was more than a customer. He was a trusted partner and friend,” Stephanie Pope, executive vice president of The Boeing Company and president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, told Cargo Facts . “To our industry, Fred was a visionary, a trendsetter and a relentless safety advocate. Over the past five decades, his vision and drive transformed the airfreight business and shaped the airplanes that carry cargo to all corners of the earth. From helping launch the Boeing 727-200 freighter to operating the largest fleet of the 757 freighter, 767 freighter and 777 freighter, Fred’s contributions to FedEx and aviation will fly on for generations to come.” [caption id="attachment_57290028" align="aligncenter" width="1747"] FedEx operated a combination of converted and production 727 freighters. (Courtesy/FedEx)[/caption] FedEx retired its final 727-200F in June 2013. “Fred had a major influence on AEI’s foundational years when he selected the 727 as their mainline freighter,” AEI Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Robert Convey told Cargo Facts . “AEI converted over 225 727s, and FedEx was a key operator of that type.” Convey got to know Smith at industry events and visits FedEx made to AEI. “I would receive calls directly from him if he had a question regarding the narrowbody freighter industry,” he said. “During those calls, we discussed AEI’s programs at length, and he was aware of our current and proposed programs.” Large-widebody conversions In many ways, Smith was also the founder of the freighter conversion industry, Convey said. Today, almost any freighter program — production or conversion — would have Smith and FedEx in mind as a potential customer. Most recently, in June, the second IAI 777-300ERSF conversion (32785) made a five-day visit to FedEx’s hub in Memphis (MEM) for display to the integrator’s employees. Meanwhile, Cargo Facts believes Smith has also visited Mammoth Freighters ’ 777 conversion site at the Aspire MRO facility in Fort Worth, Texas (AFW), as FedEx evaluates potential replacements for its MD-11Fs. What Empire’s Komberec will remember most about Smith is his passion for the industry, his love of his country and the belief that everyone has a responsibility to give back to the people and causes that matter and need help. “I will also remember his ability to take the long view of where FedEx would be in the future and see things that no one else had even thought of yet,” Komberec said. “Our industry has much to thank Fred for.” Cargo Facts Symposium, the quintessential event for stakeholders and key leaders in the global freighter and air cargo industries, will take place Oct. 22-24 at the Grand Hyatt in Nashville . Learn more and register today to take advantage of the early-bird rate. [Edited to add comment from Boeing.]

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