ABX Air

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ABX Air
Airborne Express
Midwest Air Charter
Logo ABX Air.svg
N219CY Boeing 767-383ER(BDS) ABX Air LHR 12.1.22.jpg
An ABX Air Boeing 767-300F
IATA ICAO Call sign
GB [1] ABX [2] ABEX [2]
FoundedApril 1980;45 years ago (April 1980)
AOC # ABXA001A [3]
Hubs
Fleet size33
Parent company Air Transport Services Group, Inc.
Airborne
Airborne Freight Corporation
Headquarters Wilmington Air Park
Clinton County, Ohio, U.S.
Key people
  • John Maloney (President)
  • Brant Venice (Chief Operating Officer
  • Bob Boja (Vice President of Flight Operations)
  • Rob Davis (Vice President, Aircraft Maintenance) [5]
Website www.abxair.com

ABX Air, Inc. is an American cargo airline headquartered at Wilmington Air Park near Wilmington, Ohio. [6] ABX Air operates scheduled, ad hoc charter and ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance) freight services. It also provides flight support services and training. ABX Air is owned by Air Transport Services Group.

Contents

The airline was incorporated as Midwest Air Charter (MAC) in 1970. MAC was originally best known for flying cancelled checks for banks, including, starting in 1972, the United States Federal Reserve Bank. Airborne Freight Corporation (ABF) started to charter MAC aircraft in 1976. In 1978, MAC took control of the airport at Wilmington, Ohio. In 1980, ABF bought MAC and its name to Airborne Express as part of transitioning to becoming an integrated package delivery service in competition with Federal Express, using Wilmington as its hub. In 1985, ABF adopted "Airborne Express" as its trade name and in 1989 changed the name of the airline to ABX Air to eliminate confusion with the parent's trade name. In the 1990s, ABX Air was one of the top 10 all-cargo airlines in the world by ton-miles carried. In 2003, DHL bought ABF, then named simply Airborne, spinning off ABX Air because, as a foreign-owned company, DHL could not own a US carrier.

ABX Air's main customer is DHL, and the majority of the freight it carries is for that company. Many of ABX Air's aircraft are painted with DHL's yellow and red livery.

ABX also operated cargo flights on behalf of Air Jamaica between Miami and the two Jamaican cities of Montego Bay (Donald Sangster International Airport) and Kingston (Norman Manley International Airport). One of their Boeing 767-200s routinely handled the flights, replacing the Douglas DC-8 types that flew previously. The aircraft flew with an Air Jamaica callsign of "Jamaica".

History

Midwest Air Charter

Midwest Air Charter ( ICAO : AOH,  call sign : AIR OHIO) [7] (MAC) incorporated in Ohio at the end of 1970. [8] MAC flew cashed checks for Ohio banks before starting doing the same for the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank in 1972, a measure that reduced float. [9] MAC was based at Elyria, Ohio and flew from Lorain County Airport until 1978 when it bought the airport at Wilmington, Ohio. [10] MAC was originally classified as an air taxi, [11] escaping the regulations of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), the now-defunct Federal agency that, at the time, tightly regulated almost all US commercial air transport, by flying small aircraft. On 9 January 1978, the CAB granted MAC an all-cargo certificate allowing it to fly cargo between any two points in the US per the terms of the Air Cargo Deregulation Act of 1977. [12]

In October 1976, MAC started flying on behalf of Seattle-based Airborne Freight Corporation (ABF), an air freight forwarder between 35 airports. [13] In the 1970s, passenger airlines started withdrawing freighter aircraft from their fleets, leaving air freight forwarders without the overnight cargo flights that they needed. ABF was thus driven to chartering capacity from MAC. The need for ABF's own freight flights only increased with the advent of Federal Express and the 1977 US air cargo deregulation and ABF came to increasingly rely on MAC. [14] In December 1978 ABF bought 9.5% of MAC. [15] In 1979, ABF bought its own aircraft for MAC to fly. [16] By year end 1979, MAC had 54 aircraft and was flying to 76 airports and accounted for over half of ABF's shipments. [13] Finally in ABF 1980 bought out MAC entirely, the transaction closing April 16. [17]

ABF replaced management and renamed the airline Airborne Express. [18] Prior to its sale, MAC was doing business under the name "Midwest Charter Express", also the name of its corporate parent. MAC was controlled by M.J. Garrihy and Gilbert Singerman, who also controlled Wright Air Lines, a Cleveland-based regional carrier. [19] MAC had some unusual fleet types, including the West German Hansa Jet and the French Caravelle. See Fleet.

Former Airborne Express Caravelle on display at New England Air Museum Former Airborne Express (Midwest Air Charter) Caravelle on display at New England Air Museum.jpg
Former Airborne Express Caravelle on display at New England Air Museum
YS-11 at Newark 1984 245 29-9-84 N915AX Newark (54356814336).jpg
YS-11 at Newark 1984
DC-9-41 Las Vegas 1998 LAS VEGAS OCT 1998 AIRBORNE EXPRESS DOUGLAS DC9-41 N964AX (8698036023).jpg
DC-9-41 Las Vegas 1998
DC-8-61 at Phoenix 1995 McDonnell Douglas DC-8-61(F), Airborne Express AN0213062.jpg
DC-8-61 at Phoenix 1995

Airborne Express

Airborne Express rationalized MAC: it inherited a fleet of 54 aircraft across 13 types which it reduced initially to Caravelles, Cessna Citations, Piper Navajos, NAMC YS-11s and Douglas DC-9s. It also exited the Federal Reserve contract which had timings incompatible with the package express business. [20] By 1982, it slimmed the fleet to YS-11s and DC-9s (see Fleet). [21] It added DC-8s in 1986. [22] A characteristic of Airborne Express was its use of so-called C-containers, introduced in 1985 to fit through aircraft passenger doors, eliminating the expense of cutting a cargo door in the side of an aircraft. [23] C-containers continued to be used even once the airline acquired 767s in the 1990s. [24]

ABX Air

In early 1989, Airborne Express was re-named ABX Air, to eliminate possible confusion between "Airborne Express" the tradename for the whole company and the airline itself. [25]

Apart from its core activity of cargo transportation, Airborne Express also performed airframe maintenance services to a number of aircraft types. [26] By March 1995, the company had 5,500 employees. [27] In January 1996, the company acquired 12 Boeing 767 aircraft for conversion to freighters. [26] In 1996, the airline ranked number 9 among global all-cargo airlines by ton-miles carried. [28]

ABX became a public company on August 16, 2003, as part of the merger of DHL and Airborne, in which DHL kept Airborne's ground operations and spun off its air operations as ABX Air Inc. ABX Air's common shares were traded on the NASDAQ National Market under the ticker symbol ABXA. In early 2007, ABX Air entered an ACMI agreement with All Nippon Airways to begin flying freight within Asia. The contract utilized two Boeing 767-200SF aircraft. [29] In March 2007, the airline had 7,600 employees. [30]

Previous logo until 2021. ABX Air.svg
Previous logo until 2021.

On November 2, 2007, CEO Joe Hete and the ABX Air board of directors announced that the company had entered into an agreement to acquire Cargo Holdings International, the parent company of Air Transport International (ATI) and Capital Cargo International Airlines for a cost of $350 million. The transaction was finalized on December 31, 2007, [31] and ABX Air was reorganized as a subsidiary of a holding company, later named Air Transport Services Group (ATSG). [32] On November 10, 2008, ABX Air's largest customer, DHL, announced a plan to exit the United States domestic market. [33] Previous plans by DHL had been to keep its U.S. operations by contracting them out to United Parcel Service. [33] On March 30, 2010, ABX Air's parent company, ATSG, entered into new long-term agreements with DHL, under which ABX Air would continue providing airlift for the U.S. portion of DHL's international network. [34]

Fleet

A Boeing 767-200 on short final to Miami International Airport in 2013. ABX Air Boeing 767-232(BDSF) N747AX MIA 2013-2-12.png
A Boeing 767-200 on short final to Miami International Airport in 2013.

As of August 2025, the ABX Air fleet consists of the following aircraft: [35]

ABX Air Fleet
AircraftIn Fleet
Boeing 767-200BDSF 8
Boeing 767-300BDSF 25
Total33
An ABX Air Boeing 767-300F N362CM Boeing 767F ABX Air (7937462758).jpg
An ABX Air Boeing 767-300F

Historic fleet

World Airline Fleets 1979 (copyright 1979) shows Midwest Air Charter with: [36]

Airborne Express fleet year-end 1982: [21]

JP fleets 1989 (copyright May 1989) shows Airborne Express with: [1]

ABX Air operated the following equipment throughout its history:

Incidents and accidents

Airborne Express has experienced seven accidents, with six of them being hull losses, and two resulting in fatalities. [37]

An ABX jet damaged by fire at SFO in 2008 ABX Fire.jpg
An ABX jet damaged by fire at SFO in 2008

References

  1. 1 2 Klee, Ulrich (May 1989). JP airline-fleets international 89 (23 ed.). Glattbrugg, Switzerland: Bucher Publications. p. 222. ISBN   9783857581236.
  2. 1 2 Change 4 to Order 7310.1N, Contractions (Report). Federal Aviation Administration. 20 July 1995. p. 3-1-9. hdl: 2027/ufl.31262091395771 .
  3. ↑ "Federal Aviation Administration - Airline Certificate Information - Detail View". av-info.faa.gov. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  4. 1 2 "About Us". ABX Air. Archived from the original on December 6, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  5. ↑ "About ABX Air".
  6. ↑ "Zoning Map Archived October 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine ." City of Wilmington.
  7. ↑ Contractions (Report). Federal Aviation Administration. 1 February 1980. p. G-12. hdl: 2027/ufl.31262091395029 .
  8. ↑ "Search results for "Midwest Air Charter"". Search by business name: Ohio Secretary of State. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
  9. ↑ "Check-writing habits in for change". Cleveland Press (23909): E8. 27 July 1972. ISSN   0279-3644.
  10. ↑ "Air cargo company buys facilities at air park". Wilmington News-Journal. 139 (292): 1. 29 September 1978. ISSN   2836-9297.
  11. ↑ Federal Aviation Administration (1977). FAA Statistical Handbook (Report). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 69. hdl: 2027/mdp.39015006111978 .
  12. ↑ "All-Cargo Air Service Certificates". Civil Aeronautics Board Reports. 75. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office: 821–846. October 1977 – January 1978. hdl: 2027/osu.32437011657604 .
  13. 1 2 Airborne Annual Report 1979 (Report). Airborne Freight Corporation. 1979. p. 5. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  14. ↑ Holt W. Webster (subject) (1985). Interview with Holt Webster #5. Seattle: Museum of History & Industry. Event occurs at 2:25–6:00. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
  15. ↑ ABFAnnual 1979, p. 7.
  16. ↑ ABFAnnual 1979, p. 8.
  17. ↑ Annual Report (Report). Airborne Freight Corporation. 1980. p. 17. Note G. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  18. ↑ ABFAnnual 1980, p. 3.
  19. ↑ "Civil Aeronautics Board, [Docket 32947; Order 79-6-184] Wright Air Lines, Inc,; Order To Show Cause; Application for Control and Interlocking Relationships". Federal Register. 44 (131): 39657. 6 July 1979. hdl: 2027/uc1.31210024961334 .
  20. ↑ "Airborne Heightens Competitive Effort". Aviation Week and Space Technology. 113 (24): 49. 15 December 1980. ISSN   0005-2175.
  21. 1 2 Annual Report (Report). Airborne Freight Corporation. 1982. p. 2. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  22. ↑ Annual Report 1985 (Report). Airborne Express. 1985. p. 3. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  23. ↑ ABFAnnual 1985, p. 8.
  24. ↑ "Airfreight Market Is Expanding". Aviation Week and Space Technology. 146 (2): 51. 13 January 1997. ISSN   0005-2175.
  25. ↑ "ABX Air ad". Wilmington News-Journal. 150 (85): 6A. 27 January 1989. ISSN   2836-9297.
  26. 1 2 3 4 "World airline directory – Airborne Express (ABX Air)". Flight International . 151 (4566): 50. March 19–25, 1997. ISSN   0015-3710. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015. 
  27. 1 2 "World airline directory – ABX Air (Airborne Express)". Flight International . 147 (4464): 44. March 22–28, 1995. ISSN   0015-3710. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015. 
  28. ↑ "All-Cargo Airlines". Aviation Week & Space Technology. 148 (2): 339. 12 January 1998. ISSN   0005-2175.
  29. ↑ "ABX Air Enters Into a Watershed ACMI Agreement With All Nippon Airways Co" (Press release). ABX Air, Inc. May 1, 2007. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012.
  30. ↑ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International . March 27, 2007. p. 45.
  31. ↑ "ABX Completes CHI Acquisition and Holding Company Formation" (Press release). ABX Air, Inc. December 31, 2007. Archived from the original on April 14, 2013.
  32. ↑ "ATSG : Air Transport Services Group, Inc". www.atsginc.com. Archived from the original on July 13, 2010. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  33. 1 2 "ABX Air, Form 10-Q, Quarterly Report, Filing Date Nov 14, 2008". secdatabase.com. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
  34. ↑ Air Transport Services Group, Inc Archived July 7, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  35. ↑ "Our fleet". ABX Air Services. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  36. ↑ Endres, Günter G. (1979). World Airline Fleets 1979. Hounslow (UK): Airline Publications and Sales. p. 247. ISBN   0905117530.
  37. ↑ Ranter, Harro. "Aviation Safety Network > ASN Aviation Safety Database > Operator index > United States of America > Airborne Express". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
  38. ↑ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Carstedt Jet Liner 600F N906MW Saint Louis-Lambert International Airport, MO (STL)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
  39. ↑ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle VI-R N905MW Atlanta Municipal Airport, GA (ATL)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
  40. ↑ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9-15 N926AX Philadelphia International Airport, PA (PHL)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
  41. ↑ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident NAMC YS-11A-205 N918AX Wilmington-Airborne Airpark, OH (ILN)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
  42. ↑ "Uncontrolled Flight into Terrain, ABX Air (Airborne Express) Douglas DC-8-63, N827AX, Narrows, Virginia, December 22, 1996". National Transportation Safety Board. 15 July 1997. hdl: 2027/ien.35556025439167 . NTSB/AAR-97/05.
  43. ↑ Ground Fire Aboard Cargo Airplane, ABX Air Flight 1611, Boeing 767-200, N799AX, San Francisco, California, June 28, 2008 (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: National Transportation Safety Board. 30 June 2009. NTSB/AAR-09/04/SUM.

Sources

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