FedEx starts 777 freighter flights to Seoul

FedEx starts 777 freighter flights to Seoul    FedEx Express has started a dedicated Boeing 777 freighter route connecting the company's hub in Memphis, Tenn., to South Korea with four nonstop flights a week.
   The company said since the new route combines faster service with larger cargo capacity, it can deliver documents and packages from the United States, Canada and certain markets in Latin America to Seoul in two to three business days.
   'Flying direct to South Korea supports export trade from the U.S., Canada and select markets in Latin America and helps put our customers' shipments from these locations into the South Korean market much faster,' said Michael L. Ducker, executive vice president and chief operating officer for FedEx Express, in a statement.
   The company noted that in 2010 $38.8 billion in goods were exported from the United States to South Korea, a 35 percent increase year'on-year. According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, U.S. merchandise exports to Korea would likely increase by nearly $11 billion a year once the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement is in place.
   FedEx Express is the first U.S.-based all-cargo airline to add the 777 freighter to its fleet. The plane is the world's largest twin-engine cargo aircraft. In typical FedEx operations, the 777 freighter has a revenue payload capacity of 178,000 pounds (81 metric tons), and can fly 5,800 nautical miles — the equivalent of about 6,675 land miles or nearly three times the approximate distance between the U.S. East and West coasts. Over shorter ranges, the 777 cargo plane is capable of payloads up to 215,000 pounds.