The story
Financial Air Express / PDQ was founded in 1974 by Gerald Mercer in Pontiac, MI. Jet Courier was founded at about the same time by Donald Wright in Cincinnati, OH. Jet Courier changed its name to Wright International Express in January 1985. In July 1988, these two companies merged to become US Check Airlines, headed by Gerald Mercer. US Check acquired Air Continental of Norwalk, OH a year later to become a dominant player in the cancelled check transportation industry. US Check later acquired Midway Aviation of Dallas, TX, Pacific Air Charter of San Diego, CA, Express Convenience Center of Southfield, Massachusetts and Data Air Courier of Chicago, Illinois.
In order to raise additional capital and further grow the company, US Check went public in 1998 to become AirNet Systems. In 2008, AirNet Systems was purchased by Bayside Capital, which had once owned the now defunct Flight Express of Orlando, FL.
In August 2015 Kalitta Charters acquired AirNet.
From Wikipedia’s article on AirNet Express, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4