FedEx, UPS feeder operator acquires small cargo airline

Alpine Air Express, which provides air cargo services to smaller communities in the western U.S. for customers such as FedEx, UPS, and the U.S. Postal Service has acquired Omaha, Nebraska-based Suburban Air Freight to support growing demand for e-commerce services. The deal positions Alpine Air Express, one of the largest regional air cargo carriers in the U.S., to begin flying for DHL Express and build on its expansion effort. Alpine Air operates a fleet of 50 turboprop aircraft — 35 twin-engine Beechcraft 1900D, 14 smaller Beechcraft 99 and a King Air 200 — that transport mail packages and other time-sensitive cargo in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, California, and Utah.