Editing Flying Tiger Line (section)

===1980s: Later years and merger with Federal Express===
[[File:Boeing 747-132SF N803FT F.Tigers ORD 30.09.79 edited-3.jpg|thumb|right|Flying Tigers [[Boeing 747|Boeing 747-132SF]] freighter at [[Chicago O'Hare Airport]] in 1979]]
Tiger's Ad Hoc Charter livestock flights provided airlift for exotic animals. Two examples were thoroughbred racehorses and show animals from [[Stansted]], England to the [[Melbourne Cup]], as well as breeding stock cattle (milk supply) to nations such as Japan and Thailand. They became known for carrying a number of unique cargoes, including [[Shamu (SeaWorld show)|Shamu]] the [[SeaWorld]] [[killer whale]] and the torch of the [[Statue of Liberty]].

By the mid-1980s, Flying Tigers operated scheduled cargo service to six continents and served 58 countries. It surpassed [[Pan American World Airways]] in 1980 as the world's largest air cargo carrier after acquiring its rival cargo airline [[Seaboard World Airlines]] on 1 October 1980. It also operated military contract services, most notably DC-8 routes between [[Travis Air Force Base]], California and Japan in the 1970s, followed by weekly 747 passenger service between [[Clark Air Base]], Philippines, and [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], [[Missouri]] via Japan, [[Alaska]], and Los Angeles during the 1980s. Covert flights for the military were not uncommon throughout the airline's history, given its roots in [[Civil Air Transport]] (CAT), as with its sister airline [[Air America (airline)|Air America]], originally owned by General [[Claire Lee Chennault]], commander of the Flying Tigers fighter squadron in Southeast Asia.

[[File:Boeing 747-200 (Flying Tiger Line) 01.jpg|thumb|right|Ex-Flying Tiger Boeing 747-200F (there is a tiny FedEx logo aft of the cockpit window; Japan required FedEx aircraft to retain the Flying Tiger paint job for several years)]]

At its peak, the Tigers employed approximately 251 flight attendants and carried up to a record 594 passengers and crew on its [[Military Airlift Command|MAC]] all-coach passenger flights. Approximately 998 pilots worked for the airline based throughout the US. Large crew bases were situated in Los Angeles, New York City and [[Lockbourne, Ohio]] ([[Rickenbacker International Airport]]). The Los Angeles headquarters operation included its own engine shop and jet maintenance business. Flying Tigers also made livestock carriers for airplanes, some comparable in external size and shape to the standard [[Unit load device#Common prefixes|AMJ container]] used in the FedEx flight operations. They operated a recording company subsidiary, [[Happy Tiger Records]], from 1969 to 1971.<ref name="denny_hall_bio">{{cite web| title =Denny Hall| publisher =The Nite Cafe| url =http://www.thenitecafe.com/denny.htm| access-date =2009-03-24| archive-date =2012-08-18| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120818200839/http://www.thenitecafe.com/denny.htm| url-status =dead}}</ref><ref name="ray_ruff_interview">{{cite web| last =Long| first =Donald John| title =Interview with Ray Ruff & Donnie Brooks| publisher =One-Way.org| date =2003-07-31| url =http://one-way.org/jesusmusic/index.html| access-date =2009-03-24| archive-date =2018-10-05| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20181005224148/http://www.one-way.org/jesusmusic/index.html| url-status =dead}}</ref>

Charter and scheduled passenger operations were flown by their subsidiary, '''Metro International Airlines''', which was formed in January 1981, and ceased operations in 1983, when it was sold to [[Tower Air]].<ref>"Airlines Remembered" by B.I. Hengi, Midland Publishing</ref><ref>http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/ft3.htm, Nov. 1, 1982 Metro International Airlines system timetable</ref><ref name="auto"/> The scheduled [[Boeing 747]] passenger service route was [[New York City]] [[JFK Airport]] - [[Brussels]] - [[Tel Aviv]] operated several days a week.<ref>http://www.departedflights.com/BRU83intro.html, July 1, 1983 Worldwide Edition, Official Airline Guide (OAG)</ref>

After [[Airline Deregulation Act|airline deregulation]], stiff competition buffeted profits and, with some unsuccessful diversification attempts by parent Tiger International, the airline began sustaining losses in 1981.<ref name="nst" /> Then-CEO [[Stephen Wolf]] sold Flying Tigers to [[FedEx Express|Federal Express]] in December 1988. On August 7, 1989, Federal Express merged Flying Tigers into its operations.