While many major passenger airlines are trying to return to profitability by shrinking their flight schedules, Federal Express Corp., the pioneer in overnight, coast-to-coast package delivery, aims to become bigger by flying farther faster—faster, in fact, than the speed of sound.
The company is discussing with Air France and British Airways the possibility of leasing two or more of their Concorde supersonic transports. If agreement is reached, Federal Express hopes to begin flying small (under 73 Ibs.) high-priority packages across the Atlantic. According to one plan now under study, the Federal Express Concordes would fly from Washington's Dulles airport to Shannon, Ireland, where subsonic jets would pick up bundles and whisk them to major European cities. A package leaving Washington at 9 p.m. could arrive in Paris by 9 a.m. the next morning, despite losing six hours in time-zone changes. On the trip back through those same time zones, a shipment could leave Paris at 9 p.m. and reach Washington by 10 p.m.that night.
Mainly because it uses about four times as much fuel per passenger as a 747, the Concorde has been a money loser since its maiden flights in 1976. The British and French governments now subsidize it at a rate of roughly $90 million a year. The Socialist government of France's François Mitterrand is considering grounding the prestige plane. Officials of the two nations will open talks next month on the possibility of ending, or at least severely curtailing, Concorde passenger flights.
The plane's dismal record, however, does not deter Frederick Smith, 37, who in 1973 risked a personal inheritance of $3.5 million to launch Federal Express. Smith believes the Concorde's revenues could more than double if he converted it from passenger to package service. Says he optimistically: "It is a potentially lucrative venture." If Smith is right, the Concorde may eventually become more than just a winged white elephant.