Here's how FedEx will fly giant panda Bei Bei to China via its 'Panda Express'
A FedEx plane will soon take a 15-plus hour flight from the U.S. to China. Its cargo: one giant panda and plenty of snacks.
Bei Bei the giant panda is leaving the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., for China on Tuesday. All panda cubs at the National Zoo move to China at 4 years old as part of an agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association, reports the Memphis Commerical Appeal in Tennessee, which is a part of the USA TODAY Network.
How will Bei Bei get to the Bifengxia Panda Base in China? By taking a flight on the appropriately named FedEx Panda Express, a custom-decaled Boeing 777 Freighter aircraft, out of Dulles International Airport.
Sure, a giant panda is more complicated to deliver than the standard package. But FedEx does have experience flying giant pandas, including those on Bei Bei’s family tree. The company transported Bei Bei’s parents to the U.S. in 2000, his older brother to China in 2010 and his older sister Bao Bao to China in 2017.
Bei Bei’s trip will be the eighth time the FedEx Panda Express has delivered a giant panda. The delivery is part of the “Delivering for Good” initiative at FedEx Cares, the Memphis-based logistics giant’s global charitable giving platform.
Despite the U.S.-China trade dispute and its effects on FedEx, Panda Express Captain John Hunt said transporting Bei Bei is “beyond any political conflicts or challenges” nations are encountering today. The cooperation between people from both countries shows a common interest in the giant panda species and its conservation, he said.
“Seeing that come together is important, I think, to the globe, and it certainly is for the people involved with it,” Hunt said.
How FedEx is planning the trip
FedEx’s charters department is operating under the same framework it did during the flight with Bao Bao, said Dave Lange, the department’s managing director.
“We are running pretty much the same process and checklist, because that one worked pretty darn good for us last time,” he said.
FedEx’s charters department plans and executes flights outside of FedEx’s scheduled service, such as those delivering supplies for disaster-struck communities or live animals like Bei Bei.
Lange’s team has been planning the Bei Bei trip since the beginning of October, a welcome development after only having nine days to arrange the 2010 FedEx Panda Express flight, he said. Lange estimates more than 100 people are helping put together Bei Bei's flight.
Among the preparations, FedEx is getting clearance for its airplane and crew at the Chengdu, China, airport, as Lange said FedEx doesn't have scheduled service operations there. FedEx received confirmation Monday of its arrival slot at Chengdu.
In the U.S., Dulles International Airport doesn't normally handle 777F aircraft, meaning more time is needed to coordinate that particular departure, Lange said. The FedEx crew performed dry runs at both the zoo and at Dulles a couple of weeks ago.
“Where the 777 comes in, it gives us the flexibility to fly (Dulles) to Chengdu,” he said. “That’s really the only airplane in the fleet that can do that.”
Plus, there's the added public attention (and paperwork) that comes with transporting a beloved live animal, Lange said.
“The panda flights, they have a lot of attention both internally and externally because of the type of trip they are,” he said. “That adds a whole extra dimension to the planning and execution for how we put these flights together.”
Getting Bei Bei comfortable
Bei Bei is also getting prepared for the journey ahead. Keepers will acclimate him to his travel crate by having him walk through the crate and spend moments in it with the door closed, per the National Zoo.
The zoo says the crate is similarly sized to the one Bao Bao used in 2017, which was 55 inches wide by 75 inches long and 50 inches tall.
On his departure date, Bei Bei will travel to the airport (via "a fairly sophisticated motorcade," Lange said) and be placed on the FedEx Panda Express along with 66 pounds of bamboo and other cherished supplies.
A panda keeper and veterinarian will accompany Bei Bei on his nonstop flight to Chengdu, monitoring him and providing him treats like apples, carrots and sweet potatoes, according to the zoo. A FedEx charter loadmaster will assist the attendants as they move back and forth to check on Bei Bei during the flight.
Hunt said after a “gingerly” takeoff and getting the plane to cruising altitude, there will be an opportunity for him to appreciate Bei Bei and the important U.S.-China exchange taking place.
“It’s certainly different from normal freight,” Hunt said of Bei Bei. “From the emotional side of things, it’s interesting to see the sorrow when it departs and the joy as it arrives.”
Max Garland covers FedEx, logistics and health care for The Commercial Appeal. Reach him at max.garland@commercialappeal.com or 901-529-2651 and on Twitter @MaxGarlandTypes.
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This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Bei Bei giant panda: FedEx flying him to China from National Zoo
