UPS super-sizes fleet with jumbo jet order

UPS super-sizes fleet with jumbo jet order    UPS has placed a firm order with aircraft maker Boeing for eight 747-400 freighter planes, both companies said.
   The world’s largest package delivery company is expanding its long-haul fleet to meet rising demand for international transport. Last quarter, export volumes for UPS grew 18.2 percent, led by Asia with a 39.5 percent increase in volume. In the past year, the U.S. government has granted UPS traffic rights for more than a dozen new flights. UPS also plans to build a regional hub in Shanghai, China.
   The new planes “will allow UPS to smoothly increase capacity on its most important international 'trunk' routes connecting Asia, Europe and North America, said Bob Lekites, UPS vice president of airline and international operations, in a statement.
   Deliveries will begin in June 2007 and run through 2008.
   UPS primarily relies on the MD-11 to cover long international routes. UPS Airlines operates 20 MD-11s and has eight more on order from Boeing. UPS acquired 11 used MD-11s earlier this year from Swiss. The UPS fleet also includes 32 Boeing 767-300 Extended Range wide-body planes, four 747-200s and nine 747-100s.
   In January, UPS also placed a firm order with Boeing rival Airbus for 10 A380 super-jumbo planes, each able to carry 152 tons of cargo.
   The 747-400 can carry a payload of 125 tons, 25 tons more than the 747-200s in the UPS fleet, and is 15 percent more fuel efficient. The MD-11 has a payload capacity of 86 tons.