FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., has donated the use of its extensive global transportation network to ship a giant panda from the United States to Chengdu, China.
The giant panda Bao Bao landed at China’s Chengdu Shuangliu Airport on 22 February 2017 at 6:59 pm onboard a custom-decaled FedEx B777 Freighter (B777F)—known as the FedEx Panda Express—from Washington D.C. in the US. Upon arrival, the panda was transported to her new home in Sichuan province, the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda’s Dujiangyan City Reserve.
“It’s a great honor for FedEx Express to be able to support this latest mission by donating our expertise and resources, and to be entrusted once again with such a valuable and symbolic shipment,” said Karen Reddington, president, FedEx Express Asia Pacific. “We’ve assisted with giant panda shipments several times in the past and have considerable experience of managing the process, which involves months of planning and cross-disciplinary teamwork. Transporting Bao Bao is also an act of good global citizenship that leverages our unique network and specialized capabilities to help connect the world.”
Bao Bao, a three-and-a-half-year-old female panda born in August 2013 at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, is the offspring of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, both currently living in the US.
FedEx provided a dedicated aircraft to bring Bao Bao’s brother Tai Shan to China in 2010, and her parents, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, to the United States in 2000.
