SEATTLE -- June 3, 1999
In a move to provide businesses an economical way to ship products to residential markets, Airborne Express today announced plans for the testing of Airborne@Home, a new deferred delivery service that will enable businesses to ship to residences without sacrificing economy or service. Airborne@Home combines the operational excellence of Airborne’s transportation network with the residential delivery expertise of the United States Postal Service into a service providing seamless delivery from virtually any business to any residential destination in the U.S.

"Airborne has carved a niche as the preferred carrier of corporate America, and Airborne@Home is an extension of our ongoing commitment to providing new value-added options to our customers," said Bob Brazier, Airborne’s president. "This new service is specifically designed to address the growing demand of the business-to-residential marketplace," Brazier continued. "As e-commerce and other factors continue affecting market trends, businesses are facing increasing challenges to transport residential shipments in a reliable, economical way. Airborne@Home addresses this need by providing a time-definite delivery service that combines exceptional service and tracking ability with extremely competitive rates."

Through a unique partnership with the Postal Service, Airborne will begin testing in mid-July a service for residential delivery for its business customers. Airborne will transport Airborne@Home shipments using its extensive truck hub network to one of more than 24,000 local Destination Delivery Units (DDUs) operated by the USPS within two days. The USPS will deliver the shipments the next day.

"This is great news for Airborne Express customers," said John Kelly, vice president of Expedited/Package Services for the USPS. "By combining their operation with the single-largest residential delivery network in the country, Airborne will be able to offer delivery service to the residential market in a competitive way."

With Airborne@Home, shipments will continually move through Airborne’s transportation network. The result will be a reduction in transit times by up to 60 percent over alternative services. Airborne@Home shipments, like air express shipments, may be tracked by customers using the same state-of-the-art tracking system currently available to all Airborne customers. Tracking information will alert customers to the status/location of their Airborne@Home shipments from the moment of pickup to Airborne’s delivery to the Postal DDU.

For more than 50 years, Airborne Express has served the shipping needs of business customers around the world. Today, Airborne offers total distribution solutions by providing time-sensitive delivery of documents, letters, small packages, and freight to virtually every U.S. ZIP code and more than 200 countries. Customers can select from a variety of services including same-day, next-morning, next-afternoon or second-day delivery, air freight, ocean service, and logistics management.