by 1981 federal Express had begun to deliver internationally with its first international flight going to Canada. It decided to buy into the Asia-Pacific region by acquiring Gelco Express International in 1984. As directors and shareholders became increasingly interested in overseas expansion, Federal Express bought Flying Tigers, another overseas air courier in 1989 and moved into another market with its acquisition of Roberts Express, thus beginning the European component of an ever-intensifying effort to cash in on countries and continents seeking the type of efficient service Federal Express had to offer. By now Federal Express had taken a stranglehold on the goods transportation industry, both on and off the ground.