SEATTLE -- January 25, 2000
Today Airborne Express announced the national rollout of QuikMail, an added service for Airborne customers that allows them to send generic bulk shipments of "flat mail" at rates 15-20% lower than United States Postal (USPS) First Class, with First Class speed plus 1-2 days.

Flat mail is non-personalized printed or video materials such as annual reports, announcements, catalogs, and product and service information that weighs up to 16 oz. and meets specified dimension requirements. Flat mail sent via USPS A (bulk) rate has a delivery time of 10-14 days; and USPS First Class, 2-3 days.

QuikMail combines Airborne's vast transportation network with the sorting services of partner QuickPak, Inc. and the residential delivery expertise of the United States Postal Service, providing seamless delivery from virtually any business to any residential destination in the U.S.

Tricon Global Restaurants (owner of KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell) is among the satisfied customers reporting excellent results after the QuikMail test phase. "Partnering with Airborne has provided us with an efficient and money saving method of sending mailings to our company stores and franchisees," said Tricon's manager of mail systems, Jim Mackell. "We especially appreciate the itemized invoice that provides a cost breakdown and shows us our savings. Prior to using QuikMail, we were sending flatmail shipments via First Class. QuikMail gives us nearly the same speed at a significantly lower cost." QuikMail reduces customer-processing time by picking up mailings anywhere in the nation, preparing and sorting the delivery to ensure easier, more accurate delivery. Customers simply stuff, seal, and address individual flat mail pieces and place them in a carton for Airborne pickup. Airborne verifies and corrects the addresses if necessary, barcodes the pieces, and delivers them to the QuikMail Processing Center in Indianapolis, where they are sorted by zip code and delivered directly into the US Postal stream for residential doorstep delivery. "Our customers appreciate the added value that QuikMail offers. Airborne already comes to their business locations for pickups, and this is one more service we can take care of at the same time. Some of our customers send upwards of a million flat mail pieces at once, so the cost savings is quite substantial," said Doug Thomas, Airborne Director of Pricing.

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.