Cons Freightways Unit Gets Postal Pact

Consolidated Freightways Inc., which acquired Emery Air Freight Corp. in April for $230 million, was awarded a two-year, $172.6 million contract Friday to carry overnight mail for the U.S. Postal Service.

Air Train Inc., operated by Emery Worldwide, a CF Co., will operate a fleet of 16 jets dedicated exclusively to the postal contract. The company said it expects to hire about 200 people as a result of the contract and reopen its sorting hub at Indianapolis International Airport, which was closed after the Emery purchase.

The contract, which pays $86.3 million a year, includes an option to renew for two additional years.

Air Train’s fleet will carry an average of 360,000 pounds of mail each night between 30 major metropolitan areas, including Express Mail and Priority Mail.

The postal service, which awarded the contract based on service and cost, is expanding the area served by the network from 23 metropolitan areas to 30 under the new contract.

The new areas that have been added are Buffalo, N.Y.; Hartford, Conn.; Jacksonville, Fla.; New Orleans; Phoenix, and Richmond, Va.

The postal service’s current contractor, Evergreen International Airlines Inc., will end its operations at Hulman Regional Airport in Terre Haute, Ind. Aug. 19.