Corning Inc flies to Raleigh-Durham week of Nvidia AI manufacturing partnership

Corning Inc dispatched its Dassault Falcon 900, tail number N38CG, from Wilmington International Airport to Raleigh-Durham International Airport on May 11, 2026. The 33-minute flight, topping out at 12,975 feet, covered the brief distance between two key North Carolina hubs under clear evening skies.

The timing suggests business momentum in the Research Triangle. Just days earlier, on May 6, Corning and Nvidia revealed plans for three new U.S. manufacturing facilities, two in North Carolina, to ramp up optical connectivity for AI data centers, per a Triangle Business Journal report. CEO Wendell Weeks highlighted the deal's role in driving domestic growth, with expansions at existing sites in Durham and Wilmington—precisely the flight's endpoints.

This jaunt fits Corning's pattern of frequent shuttles to the Tar Heel State, where it maintains multiple facilities for glass and fiber optics production. Recent logs show repeated trips from headquarters near Elmira, New York, to Charlotte and Wilmington, underscoring the company's deepening NC footprint amid surging demand from tech giants like Nvidia.