I wasn't long ago that flying was still a novelty. Humans wanted to fly, and even though they were born without wings, that was just a minor detail that they would eventually overcome. Later, the airplane became a reality, and not only that, but time and technology made it possible for other people to ride the plane besides the pilot. But as humans are restless, they began thinking of other ways to use the air plane.
One of the ideas for using a plane was for air freight. History was made in November of 1910, when a department store shipped a bolt of silk as air freight from Dayton to Columbus, Ohio. This was considered the first demonstration of air freight and in 1919, American Railway Express used a converted bomber to ship 1100 pounds of air freight from Washington, D.C. to Chicago. Sadly, the radiator froze and the plane had to land in Ohio, but that didn't stop the company from continuing to use planes as a way to move their air freight. The invention of air freight was great for American business, not only did it allow them to get parts and merchandise quicker, but the speed of the process meant that businesses didn't have to keep much inventory on hand.
Despite great hopes, especially after a tremendous start, the air transportation industry wasn't growing as expected. It wasn't until the 1980s that someone tried to put a new spin on air cargo and that person was Fred Smith. Fred didn't believe the way the industry was doing business was efficient or good for business so he opened up his own air freight business in Memphis, and named it Federal Express. A major plus for customers who chose Federal Express, was that they offered guaranteed next-day delivery.