21 Facts About UPS Airlines

UPS Airlines is a major American cargo airline based in Louisville, Kentucky.

Pilots of UPS Airlines are represented by the Independent Pilots Association.

Similar to the US Postal Service, UPS Airlines packages were transported as baggage on commercial airline flights.

In 1975, UPS Airlines started its first international operations as it expanded into Canada, with an additional expansion into West Germany a year later.

In 1980, UPS Airlines opened its first major hub for sorting packages transported by aircraft, located in Louisville, Kentucky.

Related searches

In contrast to chief competitor Federal Express, in the early 1980s, air operations of UPS were undertaken by several contractors, including Evergreen International Airlines, Interstate Airlines, Ryan Air, and Orion Air.

In 1982, UPS Airlines introduced its Next-Day Air service, guaranteeing overnight delivery on certain packages.

In 1986, in an effort to obtain service rights to Japan, UPS Airlines entered into a joint venture with DHL, named International Parcel Express.

In 1995, UPS Airlines purchased a second aircraft type from Boeing, the Boeing 767 freighter.

In 1991, to gain the ability to fly domestic cargo flights within Europe, UPS Airlines entered into a partnership with Danish airline Star Air, leasing several 727 freighters to the airline.

In 2004, parent company UPS Airlines acquired Menlo Worldwide Forwarding to expand its heavy-freight operations.

Under the terms of the A380 purchase, UPS Airlines reduced its order for A300 aircraft from 90 aircraft to 53.

In February 2007, UPS Airlines nearly doubled the size of its 767 fleet, as an order was placed for 27 additional freighters, entering service between 2009 and 2012.

In 2009, UPS Airlines retired its entire fleet of DC-8 aircraft; at the time, its 44 aircraft represented nearly half of the active DC-8 fleet flying worldwide.

On February 8,2010, UPS Airlines 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.

UPS Airlines decided to recall pilots back to work in December 2011.

UPS Airlines operates several international hubs worldwide outside of Worldport.

In line with the long-running UPS tradition of not displaying vehicle-manufacturer branding, UPS Airlines aircraft do not have any markings indicating aircraft type.

From its 1988 formation to 2003, UPS Airlines used a bi-color brown and white livery on its aircraft.

In 2014, in line with UPS delivery vehicles, UPS Airlines phased in a revised version of its "Worldwide Services" livery, removing the "Synchronizing the world of commerce" phrase from the fuselage.

UPS Airlines has experienced two fatal crashes which resulted in four fatalities.