UPS to purchase 18 additional Boeing freighters
UPS has ordered 14 Boeing 747-8 cargo jets and four new Boeing 767 aircraft to provide additional capacity in response to accelerating demand for the company’s air services. All of the new aircraft will be added to the existing fleet and no existing aircraft are being replaced.
The aircraft will be delivered on an expedited schedule, building on the company’s 2016 order of 14 Boeing 747-8 freighters. All 32 of the jets will be delivered by the end of 2022, adding more than 4,000 tonnes of cargo capacity. UPS’s global airline network includes more than 500 owned and leased aircraft. The company received three new 747-8 freighters in 2017.
“Our intra-U.S. next-day and deferred air shipments are expanding to record levels, and UPS’s International segment has produced four consecutive quarters of double-digit export shipment growth,” says David Abney, UPS chairman and CEO. “To support this strong customer demand, we continue to invest in additional air capacity, providing the critical link our customers need to markets around the world.”
In addition to growing customer demand for express services, recent US tax reform legislation is enabling UPS to utilize tax savings to significantly increase capital investments and to make them earlier than previously planned.
The 747-8 freighter carries 46 shipping containers, 34 on its main deck and 12 in its lower compartments. Each of them has a cargo capacity of 139 tonnes, or approximately 30,000 packages and a range of 4,200 nautical miles (7,700 kilometers).
The Boeing 767 freighter has cargo capacity of 132,200 pounds and capacity for 31 air containers, 24 on the main deck and 7 in its lower compartments. It has a range of approximately 3,000 nautical mile (5,500 kilometers). UPS currently operates 59 Boeing 767 aircraft.