20 March 2004
United Person Service to begin operations this fall
Work begun on first class personnel shipping crates
LITTLETON, Colo. -- Charles McKinley has established a business here that
would allow him to ship people as cargo aboard short-hop domestic
flights.
McKinley
has experience in this field. Indeed, Mr. McKinley
gained much notoriety earlier this year as "Charlie in a Box" when he squeezed his 5 foot, 8
inch frame into a 42 X 36 X 15 inch box and shipped himself from New
York to his parent's home in a Dallas suburb to avoid the cost of an
airline ticket.
When interviewed in his new office at the headquarters of United Person
Service, McKinley said, "We have already received considerable interest from a number
of Fortune 500 companies who are seeking ways to reduce the travel expenses
for their employees.
In response to those inquiries, we are setting up a frequent shipper
program and are developing a 'first class' leather shipping container that
would
be almost 4 inches larger in every dimension."
Will Small, a spokesman for the newly formed company told Travel Fox
that a contract has been awarded to Sarcophagus Industries of Hong Kong
to produce 8,600 economy-class personnel shipping crates. Each crate will have
a reading light, drinking water, a waste bag, and
space for two pieces of luggage.
First-class containers will be introduced this fall and will include
personal video players and full mini-bars with complimentary cocktails.
"Double- and triple-wide containers are being considered for family
travel," said Mr. Small, "and may be added next year."
United Person Service expects to become profitable within 18 months, and
sources close to the company have mentioned that it has a "soft" order
for six specially configured Airbus A300s that could carry 530 economy
and 122 first class containers to international destinations.
Not allowing his idea for budget travel to wane, Mr. McKinley is already showing interest in
entering the lodging business with a franchise program for minuscule
motels.
Related Travel Fox scoops:
Related Err Travel columns:
© 2004 Applied Psychology
|
|
