Exhibit 99.1

      Forward Air Corporation Announces Two Director Retirements

    GREENEVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 19, 2005--Forward Air
Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD) today announced that two Board members,
Scott M. Niswonger and Robert K. Gray, will not stand for reelection
at the 2005 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.
    Mr. Niswonger is the co-founder of the Company and has been its
Chairman of the Board since 1988. He also served as Chief Executive
Officer of the Company from October 1981 until October 2003, and as
President from October 1981 until August 1998. Mr. Gray, Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer of Gray and Company II, a public relations
company, has served as a director of the Company since April 1993.
    Bruce A. Campbell, President and CEO, stated "Our Company is
eternally grateful for the leadership and insight provided by both
Scott and Bob and their presence and counsel will be missed. The
Company has retained a search firm to assist in replacing the
vacancies created by Scott and Bob's departures and we expect them to
be filled in the near future."
    Commenting about his decision, Mr. Niswonger remarked "It has been
a privilege to serve as Forward Air's Chairman for so many years. I
will miss everyone at Forward Air; however, I am very confident that
the management team will continue to deliver some of the finest
results in the transportation industry."

    About Forward Air

    Forward Air is a high-service-level contractor to the air cargo
industry providing time-definite ground transportation services
through a network of 80 terminals located on or near major airports in
the United States and Canada. The Company provides these services as a
cost-effective alternative to air transportation of cargo that must be
delivered at a specific time but is relatively less time-sensitive
than traditional airfreight or when air transportation is not
economical.

    Important Information

    This press release contains "forward-looking statements," as
defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
Forward-looking statements are statements other than historical
information or statements of current condition and relate to future
events or our future financial performance. Some forward-looking
statements may be identified by use of such terms as "believes,"
"anticipates," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "projects" or
"expects." Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual
results, performance or achievements to be materially different from
any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied
by such forward-looking statements. The following is a list of
factors, among others, that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements:
economic factors such as recessions, inflation, higher interest rates
and downturns in customer business cycles, our inability to maintain
our historical growth rate because of a decreased volume of freight
moving through our network or decreased average revenue per pound of
freight moving through our network, increasing competition and pricing
pressure, surplus inventories, loss of a major customer, the
creditworthiness of our customers and their ability to pay for
services rendered, our ability to secure terminal facilities in
desirable locations at reasonable rates, the inability of our
information systems to handle an increased volume of freight moving
through our network, changes in fuel prices, claims for property
damage, personal injuries or workers' compensation, employment matters
including rising health care costs, enforcement of and changes in
governmental regulations, environmental and tax matters, the handling
of hazardous materials, the availability and compensation of qualified
independent owner-operators and freight handlers needed to serve our
transportation needs and our inability to successfully integrate
acquisitions. As a result of the foregoing, no assurance can be given
as to future financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.

    CONTACT: Forward Air Corporation
             Andrew C. Clarke, 423-636-7000
             aclarke@forwardair.com