Board regulations which forbid carrying a certain amount of weight based on capabilities of older aircraft, “He ran afoul of the reg known as Part 298, which limited air taxis to a maximum takeoff weight of 12,500 pounds. The Falcon could not possibly operate under that limit! Even equipped and empty, the aircraft weighed 15,200 pounds. With fuel tanks full, and loaded with packages, the plane would gross at least 26,000 pounds” (Trimble 116). Of course, this reg was eventually lifted, but Smith’s innovative methods of buying planes at a reduced cost from aircraft manufacturers who had an excess of inventory and of buying abandoned air force strips from the military continued to aid the success of FedEx.
James C. Wetherbe is academia’s reigning expert on information systems and cycle time research. In his series of audio cassettes entitled The World On Time, he delves into the success of FedEx and the leadership principles that have made it the reigning world leader in i
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