UPS Airlines

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. 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

In 1975, UPS started its first international operations as it moved into Canada. The following year it started a service into Germany. As UPS had become a truly international company, the need for its own fleet of aircraft was becoming more clearly apparent, 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 no more than three hours flying distance (by jet) from the majority of the continental United States. In addition, Louisville has relatively mild weather and is at the westernmost point of the Eastern time zone. Also in the early 1980s the company began acquiring a fleet of jet aircraft recently retired from commercial aircraft duty comprising Douglas DC-8s, Boeing 727-100s and Boeing 747-100s.

1988–2000

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. Coinciding with the launch of its airline, UPS expanded and modernized its jet fleet with a major aircraft purchase. In place of converted passenger aircraft, UPS purchased dedicated freighter variants of the Boeing 757 and Boeing 767, becoming the launch customer of both types. Starting in 1987, 75 757-200s were added to the fleet while 32 767-300s were added to the fleet starting in 1995.

In the 1990s, the airline began to expand its network beyond the Louisville hub with facilities in Rockford, Illinois (Chicago); Philadelphia; Dallas/Fort Worth; Columbia, South Carolina; and Ontario, California (Los Angeles).

With most of its aircraft flying primarily on weeknights, the airline was eager to find other ways to produce income from its fleet. In the 1990s, eight 727 freighters were converted (at a cost of $2.5 million each) into 727-100QC (QC=Quick Change) freighters with the ability to be re-converted into passenger aircraft for the purpose of chartered flights.

2000–2010

During the 2000s (decade), the makeup of the UPS Airlines fleet saw extensive change. In 2000, the first Airbus A300 freighters entered service. Marking the entry of the first non-Boeing/Douglas aircraft to the fleet, the airline ordered 90 of the freighters. In 2001, after disappointing results, UPS withdrew its 727 quick-change freighters from charter service. The same year, UPS began its first flights to China, six days a week.

As part of the company rebranding from United Parcel Service to UPS in early 2003, the airline redesigned its aircraft livery, featuring the redesigned company "shield" logo on the vertical stabilizer.

In the mid-2000s, the Boeing 727s (the oldest and lowest-capacity aircraft of the airline) were retired. From 2008 to 2009, the airline had also retired its older 747 fleet (consisting of 747-100 and 747-200s built in the 1970s). During 2009, the airline retired its DC-8 fleet; at the time, nearly half the active DC-8 fleet of the entire world was operated by UPS.

In September 2002, UPS completed its five-year expansion of its international all-points air hub called Worldport in Louisville. In 2006 and 2010, UPS had completed further expansions of Worldport, bringing the largest fully automated package handling facility in the world to 5.2 million square feet, with a perimeter of 7.2 miles.

2010–present

On February 8, 2010, UPS announced the plans to furlough at least 300 pilots in 2010 and 2011, cancelling a 2009 agreement between the company and the Independent Pilots Association. The remaining pilots not furloughed demonstrated unprecedented unity by not flying overtime while colleagues were laid off. UPS decided to reduce the furlough to 109 pilots. The final pilot furloughed was in August, 2010. UPS decided to recall pilots back to work in December, 2011. The furlough officially ended in May, 2014 when the first pilot furloughed returned to work.

On September 1, 2016, UPS and the IPA agreed to a new 5-year contract. Key components of the agreement were: immediate increases of 14.65% and a signing bonus in place of retroactive pay; 3% annual wage increases through the span of the contract; enhanced pension benefits; crew rest enhancements, including reduced duty period limits for overnight and international flights; additional sleep facilities at major gateways; and sleep modules in UPS Boeing 767 aircraft.

After statements that Boeing would end its production, in October 2016, UPS Airlines announced one of the largest purchases of the Boeing 747. In an agreement worth $5.2 billion, UPS announced a purchase of 14 Boeing 747-8F freighter aircraft with an option to purchase 14 additional aircraft. Citing growth in worldwide air cargo demand, the airline is intending to expand its overall fleet size and capacity by the end of the 2010s.

Hubs

Each day, UPS Airlines flies to over 220 countries and territories worldwide, serving 388 US airports with 936 flight segments and 378 international airports with 755 flight segments Using the traditional hub-and-spoke model, UPS Airlines operates through its central facility, Worldport, in Louisville, Kentucky. In addition, the company operates several facilities on a regional level across the United States.

International hubs

UPS Airlines operates several international hubs worldwide outside of Worldport. Two are in North America with one in Europe; three are located in China, and one in Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Europe

China

Hong Kong

Fleet

As of 2016, UPS Airlines has an active fleet of 236 aircraft. Operating an all-jet fleet, the airline does not own any turboprop, short-haul aircraft; as it needs such aircraft, they are chartered from companies such as Air Cargo Carriers and Ameriflight.

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. In March 2007 the order was cancelled, citing production delays that pushed the initial delivery date beyond 2012. In August 2005 the airline ordered 8 Boeing 747-400s to increase capacity on its major trunk routes to Europe, Asia and North America. Deliveries of these aircraft started in June 2007. UPS Airlines placed a firm order for 27 additional Boeing 767–300 Freighters in February 2007 to be delivered from 2009 to 2013. The airline placed a firm order for 14 Boeing 747-8 Freighters in October 2016 with options for 14 additional aircraft.

Livery

From its 1988 formation to 2003, UPS Airlines used a bi-color brown and white livery on its aircraft. Most of the fuselage was painted white with the vertical stabilizer painted the same Pullman Brown as its delivery vehicles. On the centerline of the fuselage, a brown cheatline was applied; as its 727, DC-8, MD-11, and 747 fleet were converted passenger aircraft, this was done to further cover up the passenger windows. On the forward third of the fuselage above the cheatline was painted: "United Parcel Service".

In 2003, to commemorate the official name change of United Parcel Service to UPS, the company logo was given a redesign along with a redesign of the UPS Airlines livery. With nearly the entire fuselage painted white, the brown portion of the tail was changed to sweep above the rear fuselage, coming to a point near the front of the wing; the white and brown portions of the fuselage were separated by a gold stripe. In place of the "United Parcel Service" was painted in two lines: "Worldwide Services: Synchronizing the world of commerce". The only aircraft in the UPS Airlines fleet that did not adopt the "Worldwide Services" livery were the Boeing 747-100, Boeing 747-200, along with the majority of the Boeing 727 fleet, as these aircraft were in the process of being phased out in the mid-2000s.

In 2014, UPS Airlines began to modify its "Worldwide Services" livery throughout its fleet by removing the phrase "Synchronizing the world of commerce" from the fuselage and modifying the gold stripe and UPS emblem. Both are painted in a brighter shade, and the UPS emblem was modified by the removal of the gradient shading within the background. As of July 2015, more than half of the company's Boeing 757-200 had been repainted in the updated livery with a select few Airbus A300-600 painted as well. On March 15, 2016 the airline announced that 40 aircraft will be painted in 2016, to be completed at Dean Baldwin Painting in Peru, Indiana, just a 40-minute flight from Louisville.

Hot-Spare Program

On every week day night, UPS designates 14 different planes at 7 hub airports to be spare aircraft ready to launch at anytime, known as hot-spares. The flight crew will preflight the empty aircraft and then wait to be launched to a gateway to rescue stranded packages, and then return flight back to a hub for sorting. Most commonly hot-spares are launched because of an aircraft mechanical issue, additional volume, or weather. Once the call is made to launch a hot-spare, the aircraft needs to be in the air within 30 minutes or less to assure the packages will make service the next day. In 2014, UPS launched 275 hot spares, recovering 1.5 million packages for about $32 million in revenue and a 90 percent effective on-time delivery rate.

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.