UPS Airlines

UPS Airlines

IATA 5X ICAO UPS Callsign UPS
Founded	1988
Hubs	"Worldport" Louisville International Airport Asia/Pacific: Hong Kong International Airport[1] Shanghai Pudong International Airport[1] Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport[2] United States: Philadelphia International Airport LA/Ontario International Airport Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport Chicago Rockford International Airport Columbia Metropolitan Airport Miami International Airport Europe: Cologne Bonn Airport Canada: John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport
Fleet size	237
Destinations	727 (381 domestic, 346 international)
Company slogan	Worldwide Services: Synchronizing the World of Commerce
Headquarters	Louisville, Kentucky
Key people	Mitch Nichols (President)[1]
Website	Airlines-UPS Pressroom

UPS Airlines is an American cargo airline owned by United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS). The company is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.^[3] Its headquarters, Worldport, is based at Louisville International Airport. The pilots are represented by the Independent Pilots Association.

History

Early years

The origin of transporting packages by air for UPS (then United Parcel Service) dates to 1929; much like the U.S Postal Service, UPS packages were transported as baggage on commercial airline flights.^[4] Many packages were shipped by the Ford Trimotors of United Airlines. After Black Tuesday and the beginning of the Great Depression, the air service would be discontinued by the end of 1931. However, the air service would lead to the expansion beyond the West Coast; in 1930, the company moved operations from Oakland to New York City and established operations in other regions across the country as well.

After World War II, UPS (in the process of acquiring common carrier rights for every address in the United States) revisited the idea of shipping packages by air. Starting in 1953, 2-day delivery was offered on coast-to-coast packages; the service was called Blue Label Air. As before, volume was transported via commercial flights. Initially unprofitable, Blue Label Air became popular as its speed created enough demand to maintain a profit.

1975–1988

A UPS Boeing 727-100 in Louisville, Kentucky

A UPS DC-8-71F in Miami, Florida

In 1975, UPS started its first international operations as it moved into Canada; the next year, it started service in Germany.^[5] As UPS had become a truly international company, the need for its own fleet of aircraft was becoming imminent rather than relying on commercial flights. Additionally, competitor Federal Express, with its own jet fleet, was making inroads on UPS and had become profitable for the first time in 1976. In 1978, the Airline Deregulation Act gave UPS a significant opportunity: the company could now establish its own airline and flying from city to city would require far fewer legislative hurdles, as the federal government now encouraged competition between airlines. In 1980, UPS opened its first major hub, located in Louisville, Kentucky; the location was chosen largely because it is three hours flying distance (by jet) from the majority of the continental United States. Also in the early 1980s, the company began acquiring a fleet of jet aircraft recently retired from commercial aircraft duty; it was composed of Douglas DC-8s, Boeing 727-100s, and Boeing 747-100s.

1988–2000

Boeing 767-300F in Japan

Airbus A300-600 on approach to Des Moines, Iowa (current UPS livery)

In 1988, UPS Airlines was founded; at the time of its founding, UPS had a route network serving 41 countries connecting the United States to Asia and Europe. During the 1990s, the airline expanded its jet fleet with all-new aircraft. The first of its 75 Boeing 757-200s was delivered starting in 1987, while 32 767-300s were delivered beginning in 1995. In the 1990s, the airline began to expand its network beyond the Louisville hub with facilities in Rockford, Illinois; Philadelphia; Dallas; Columbia, South Carolina; and Ontario, California.

As the jet fleet flies primarily on weekdays, UPS was eager to find ways for its aircraft to produce income other ways. In the 1990s, eight 727s were converted (at a cost of $2.5 million each) into 727-100QC (QC=Quick Change) freighters that were able to be converted into passenger aircraft for the purpose of charters.

2000 – present

In 2000, the UPS airline fleet saw another major addition, as the first of 90 Airbus A300 freighters entered service; these marked the first non-Boeing/Douglas aircraft in the fleet. In 2001, the airline ended its passenger service, focusing exclusively on freight service. In April 2001, the airline made its first flights to China, six days a week.^[6] In 2003, the aircraft saw a change in livery as United Parcel Service officially became UPS and the tail logo (a design seen since 1961) was redesigned.

During the 2000s, the makeup of the UPS Airlines fleet changed considerably. In the mid-2000s, the oldest and lowest-capacity aircraft, the Boeing 727s, were retired. From 2008 to 2009, the airline phased out its 747-100, 747-200, and DC-8 fleet; at the time, nearly half of the world's active DC-8 fleet was operated by the company.

In April 2010, UPS completed its expansion of Worldport in Louisville, after five years of construction.

On February 8, 2010 UPS announced the plans to furlough at least 300 pilots in 2010 and 2011, cancelling the agreement reached in 2009 between UPS and the Independent Pilots Association.^[7] UPS has furloughed 108 pilots as of April 2011. The last pilot was furloughed in August 2010 and additional furloughs have been cancelled, according to UPS.^[8]

Destinations

UPS flies to more than 200 countries and territories around the world, serving 388 U.S. airports with 936 flight segments, and 378 international airports with 755 flight segments daily.^[1] Most UPS Airlines flights go through the UPS Worldport at Louisville International Airport. In addition to Worldport, UPS Airlines operates regionally-focused hubs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Ontario, California; Dallas, Texas; Rockford, Illinois and Columbia, South Carolina. Philadelphia is the main transatlantic hub for flights to Europe. Other hubs in North America include Hamilton, Ontario and Miami, Florida. Internationally, UPS operates hubs in Cologne, Germany; Hong Kong; Shanghai and Shenzhen, China.

Fleet

A Boeing 747-200 in original UPS Airlines livery at Denver International Airport in 2003

A McDonnell Douglas MD-11F arrives at Warsaw Chopin Airport

As of September 2013, UPS Airlines has an active fleet of 237 aircraft^[9] with an average age of 14.8 years.^[10] In addition, the airline charters 293 aircraft.^[1]

In January 2005, UPS Airlines placed an order for 10 freighter versions of the Airbus A380 with an option for 10 more; as part of the deal, the airline reduced an existing commitment for 90 Airbus A300 freighters to 53.^[11] In March 2007, the order was cancelled, citing production delays that pushed the initial delivery date beyond 2012.^[12] In August 2005, the airline ordered 8 Boeing 747-400's to increase capacity on its major trunk routes to Europe, Asia, and North America. Deliveries of these started in June 2007.^[13] UPS Airlines placed a firm order for 27 additional Boeing 767–300 Freighters in February 2007 to be delivered 2009 to 2013.^[14]

Livery

UPS Airlines currently uses a tricolor livery on its aircraft. The majority of the fuselage is white, with the vertical stabilizer and rear portion of the fuselage painted UPS Pullman Brown. A gold stripe separates the brown and white painted areas. On the forward third of the fuselage is written: "Worldwide Services: Synchronizing the world of commerce". The current livery was introduced in 2003 to commemorate the redesign of the UPS corporate logo.

From 1988 to 2003, the UPS airline used a brown and white livery. A brown cheatline was applied along the center of the fuselage; this was done to cover up the passenger windows on converted passenger aircraft in the fleet. On the forward third of the fuselage above the cheatline was written: "United Parcel Service".

Use of Continuous Descent Approach (CDA) to save fuel

UPS Airlines is experimenting with a Global Positioning System-based landing procedure, called Continuous-Descent Approach at the Worldport, replacing the traditional holding pattern and step-wise descent. CDA is used to reduce the time and fuel needed to approach a runway and land by eliminating the need to alternatively reduce and increase throttle to descend and level off. UPS Airlines estimates that this procedure saves an average of 250 to 465 lbs (110–210 kilograms) of fuel per flight. CDA is part of the Federal Aviation Administration's long-term "Next-Gen" air traffic control plan.^[15]

Major incidents and accidents

• September 11, 1998: Flight 744, N316UP, a Boeing 767–300, suffered substantial damage after running off the runway at Ellington Field from Louisville International Airport. The airport was experiencing a major storm at the time of the landing, and the aircraft was unable to stop on a wet runway with a strong tailwind. After running off the runway, the aircraft's right landing gear broke off and the right engine separated from the wing. The aircraft was put back into service after major repairs.^[16]
• June 7, 2005: Flight 6971, N250UP, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11, suffered substantial damage after a landing gear collapse at Louisville International Airport from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. The crew accidentally lowered the nose of the aircraft too quickly, buckling the front landing gear. The aircraft was put back into service after a $10 million repair.^[17]
• February 7, 2006: Flight 1307, N748UP, a Douglas DC-8, was destroyed by fire at Philadelphia International Airport from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Just before landing the crew reported a smoke detector activated in the cargo hold. After landing, the cargo hold of the aircraft caught fire. The source of the fire was never found.^[18]
• September 3, 2010: Flight 6,^[19] N571UP, a Boeing 747-400F, crashed near the Dubai Silicon Oasis at approximately 7:45pm local time after declaring an emergency fifty minutes after takeoff. Both crew members were killed, the first such casualties in UPS' history.^[20] On 6 November 2010 Agence France-Presse released the Arabic Al-Qaeda statement that the crash was due to on-board explosion of an air package collected in Yemen, to date this has not been proven.^[21]
• August 14, 2013: Flight 1354,^[22] N155UP, an Airbus A300-600, crashed in an open field on approach to Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport in Birmingham, Alabama killing both the pilot and co-pilot.

See also

• Aviation
• United Parcel Service (Parent company)

References

This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the German Wikipedia.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to UPS Airlines.

• Airlines-UPS Pressroom-UPS Website with UPS Airlines information
• NTSB Aircraft Accident Report Flight 1307