Have you ever sent an overnight delivery of See’s Candy to your mother in Tampa? (Just FYI—my favorites are nuts and chews). How do you think it gets there? If you shipped via FedEx, it likely went through Memphis during the middle of the night. At the FedEx World Hub in Memphis, packages from all over the United States (and the world) get sorted on a nightly basis. In fact, the hub can process nearly 125,000 packages an hour (that is a lot of candy), making it the world’s busiest air cargo airport! FedEx is also the largest employer in Memphis.
- The air cargo route between San Diego and Memphis.
Recently Keith from Airport Planning, Richard and Eric from Real Estate and I spent a couple of days in Memphis talking with both FedEx and UPS about their air cargo needs here in San Diego. Currently, all of San Diego International Airport’s cargo carriers park their aircraft on the north side of the airfield. It is a long-term goal of the Airport Authority to build air cargo buildings for processing and sorting of packages, as addressed in both the Airport Master Plan and Destination Lindbergh.
In 2008, there were 6,892 cargo operations (a take-off or a landing) that accounted for 3.4 percent of our total operations. Most of the FedEx operations here are with large Airbus A300 aircraft. Occasionally, FedEx operates some small Cessna Caravans from El Centro to San Diego; these are known as feeder aircraft (pictured here).
Ah ... Memphis.
Some of you may remember my post from last year, “Thank ya, thank ya very much,” which discussed our once-daily nonstop service to Memphis. Here are some other sights in Memphis you might consider seeing:
- Peabody Hotel (watch the world-famous Peabody ducks)
- The Rendezvous (some killer dry-rub BBQ)
- Beale Street (home of the Blues)
- Sun Studio (where Elvis recorded the hits)
- And of course… Graceland (what can I say?)
Let me give you a word of warning: When you visit Memphis during the summer, it can be HOT and HUMID! However, whether you’re sending an overnight package or having some dry-rub BBQ, Memphis is one “attitude adjustment” that shouldn’t be missed.
Filed under: Air Service, Airlines of Lindbergh Field, Get to Know Your Airport, RYAN (Airport Planning Department)
My parents took my nephew to see the famous Peabody ducks last summer when he was about 4 years old – he loved it! He also got a kick out of Graceland. His favorite part? Elvis’ airplane, of course!
Nice post, Ryan!
Sigh…makes me think of that ’80s song from one-hit-wonder Contraband: ‘Forgot my six-string razor and hit the sky / Half way to Memphis before I realized…Yeah, it’s a mighty long way down rock ‘n’ roll…All the way from Memphis’. Everyone sing along!