Aircraft Fleet

History[edit]

The UPS Airlines is an U.S. carrier headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. As the third biggest air carrier in the world (in air traffic terms), UPS Airlines serves 779 global destinations[6], most of all airlines (cargo or passengers). UPS (United Parcel Service), a 100% UPS affiliate since its inception in 1988, celebrated its 30-year anniversary in 2018.

UPS is working according to the hub-and-spoke approach in accordance with the passengers carriers. Based in Worldport at Louisville Airport, the carrier has several US regional centers and multiple Hong Kong, China and Germany regional centers. UPS Aviation passengers are served by the Independent Pilot Association.

UPS (then United Parcel Service) parcels were first airlifted in 1929; similar to the US postal system, UPS parcels were carried as luggage on business trips. 7 ] Many parcels were sent with Ford Trimotors from United Airlines. Following the Black Tuesday and the beginning of the world economic crisis, flight operations were suspended until the end of 1931.

In 1930 the airline relocated its operation from Oakland to New York City and began to establish itself in other parts of the United States. In the aftermath of the Second World War, UPS (about to acquire joint forwarding agency shares for each U.S. address) revived the concept of parcel services by plane.

From 1953, a two-day shipment was provided on coastal-to-coast parcels; the name of the facility was Blue Label Air. The UPS parcel volumes were still carried on business air travel. With UPS becoming a truly global business, accessing one's own freighters had become a more obvious problem. By 1976, the rival Federal Express (which had its own fleet of jets ) had made a gain, demonstrating that parcel services did not depend solely on airliners to carry their volumes.

The 1978 Deregulation Act for UPS gave an important occasion to airlines: the business could now create its own carrier, and air travel from town to town would need far fewer legal barriers as the German authorities now promote inter-carrier competitiveness. When UPS Airways was founded in 1988, the carrier served a 41-country carrier system linking the United States and Canada with Asia and Europe.

In order to extend and modernise the aircraft fleet, UPS bought special Boeing 757 cargo versions at the end of 1987. UPS bought a second aircraft from Boeing in 1995, the Boeing 767 Cargo. UPS Airlines, the first purchaser of both aircraft, would buy 75 757s and 32 1767s, more than double the fleet area.

UPS in 1991 partnered with the Norwegian carrier Star Air (part of the Maersk group) and leased several 727 carriers to the carrier (later superseded by 747 carriers) in order to be able to operate intra-European freighters. To expand its global reach, UPS Airlines opened extra hub facilities in the early 1990' with prime hub locations in Rockford, Illinois (Chicago) and Philadelphia; second hub locations were opened in Dallas/Fort Worth, Columbia, South Carolina and Ontario, California (Los Angeles).

Since most of its aircraft fly mainly on weekends, the carrier has sought other ways to generate revenue from its fleet. During the 1990s, eight 727 cargo ships ($2.5 million each) were transformed into 727-100QC (QC=Quick Change) cargo ships, which can be rebuilt into commercial aircraft for charter use.

Following unsatisfactory results, UPS ended its charters with quick-change carriers in 2001, returning the aircraft to freighting. After the introduction of prime and turntables into the flight system in the 90s, the extra demands during most of the next century resulted in a huge extension of the Louisville main airport.

14 ] As part of the acquisition of Menlo Worldwide Forwarding in 2004, a second extension was concluded in 2006 to extend the heavy-duty operation of the UPS system; similar extensions were also made to the biggest UPS hub in the USA. Between 2006 and 2010, a third extension expanded the Worldport facilities by over 1 million sq ft (to 5.2 million sq ft) and added extra aircraft dock area.

In early 2003, as part of the brand transition from United Parcel Services to UPS, the carrier repainted its aircraft and displayed the newly designed corporate identity "shield" on the fin. UPS Airlines almost nearly doubles the fleet of 767s in February 2007 as 27 more carriers were ordered and put into operation between 2009 and 2012.

In addition to the FedEx Express[19] cancellations, the last A380 acquisition by an American carrier ended. Until 2007, further MD-11 and 747-400 had gone into operation, so that the carrier phased out its oldest aircraft from the fleet. The Boeing 727 freighter (the oldest and most powerful aircraft) was first decommissioned and substituted on the route by a Boeing 757 freighter.

In 2008 and 2009 the 747-100 and 747-200 aircraft were decommissioned and superseded by 747-400 and MD-11F aircraft. UPS Airlines discontinued its complete fleet of DC-8 aircraft in 2009, when the 44 aircraft accounted for nearly half of the DC-8 fleet operating the world. The UPS 767 fleet was changed in 2014 as all aircraft and all aircraft ordered were equipped with singlets.

23 ] In 2017, 3 767-300ERs were bought by Japan Airlines and were the first retrofitted for UPS to 767. UPS Airlines serves 388 U.S. U.S. ports with 936 airways and 378 U.S. intercontinental destinations with 755 airways[1] and serves more than 220 destinations around the world every single day. UPS Airlines uses the established hub-and-spoke approach from its headquarters in Worldport, Louisville, Kentucky.

Furthermore, the enterprise runs several sites at local levels in the USA. The Louisville International Airport (Standiford Field) in Louisville, Kentucky, the main UPS Airlines gateway, with Worldport and UPS Airlines head office. Worldport' services cover more than 200 nations around the world with around 251 arrivals and departures a day.

Together with the 5.2 million sq ft Worldport facilities, UPS also runs a 654,000 sq ft cargo plant at the Newport. UPS Airlines serves several global hub locations outside of Worldport. There are two in North America, one in Europe, three in China and one at Kuala Lumpur IPA.

Muñoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The UPS Airlines will become the world's biggest Boeing 747-8F carrier (after the 2018 purchase); it is the second biggest Boeing 757, 767, MD-11F and Airbus A300 carrier. For several years, the carrier was also the biggest Douglas DC-8 carrier, operating almost half of the world's operating Douglas DC-8s at the end of 2009.

Whereas UPS distinguishes itself by its Pullman Braun vans to minimize thermal dissipation and weight,[29][30] Braun on UPS Airlines aircraft has been downgraded to a second colour. In the course of its life, the carrier has used two live recordings in its aircraft fleet. UPS Airlines' aircraft have no marks to indicate the aircraft model, in accordance with UPS's long-standing UPS policy of not affixing car numbering.

UPS Airlines used a two-tone brown-and-white finish on its aircraft from its founding in 1988 to 2003. There was a cheat line on the centre line of the body; as the fleet of 727, DC-8, MD-11 and 747 aircraft was rebuilt, this was done to further conceal the passengers window.

"The United Parcel Service." To protect against breakdowns due to bad weather, mechanic failures, or unforeseen causes, UPS Airlines runs a Emergency Programme "Hot-Spare" for most of its years. 33 ] The programme is designed to encrypt an empty UPS aircraft so that it must depart for take-off within 30 seconds of a servicing enquiry.

Except for Boeing 747 cargo aircraft, every aircraft model is used by UPS Airlines for the UPS Airline Express Airline Express Airline Express Airline Express Airline Express Airline Express Airline Express Airline Express. In order to compensate for the flying range, 14 different aircraft are used at 7 UPS Airlines hub locations. "The United Parcel Services. Stan's WIngs | U | U | U | United Parcel Services Captain's Hat Badge (1st edition)".

Cargo Crossroads of the World : UPS Airlines Information. Pilot Central. UPS 767 Fleet Gets New Look - UPS Introduces New 767 Aircraft Fuel Savings and Emissions Reduction Winglets". "3 "3 billion order for Boeing 747 freighter mirrors demand," says UPS CEO.

UPS orders 14 extra 747-8 cargo ships, plus four 767 cargo ships". UPS orders 14 new Boeing 747-8 cargo aircraft. ASN Aircraft Crash Boeing 767-34AF N316UP Houston-Ellington Field, TX (EFD). ASN Aircraft Crash McDonnell Douglas MD-11F N250UP Louisville-Standiford Field, KY (SDF). ASN Aircraft Crash McDonnell Douglas DC-8-71F N748UP Philadelphia International Airport, PA (PHL).

Explanation of the plane incident. "The United Parcel Service. ASN Flugzeugunfall Boeing 747-44AF (SCD) N571UP Dubai Airport (DXB)". aviation-safety.net. "The United Parcel Service. ASN Flugzeugunfall Airbus A300F4-622R N155UP Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, AL (BHM)". aviation-safety.net. "McDonnell Douglas MD-11F N277UP Seoul-Incheon International Airport (ICN)".