FedEx to buy 90 757s to replace older aircraft

FedEx to buy 90 757s to replace older aircraft    FedEx will spend $2.6 billion over several years to acquire 90 Boeing 757-200 aircraft to replace its fleet of aging, narrowbody 727-200s, the Memphis-based express carrier said Monday in its quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
   FedEx said the aircraft will enter service over an eight year period beginning in 2008, contingent on purchasing suitable aircraft. The delivery company did not say where it planned to get the aircraft.
   Boeing stopped making the 757 in 2005. Few of the 1,048 planes it built were freighters, so FedEx will probably buy passenger planes and have them converted. UPS operates 75 freighters off of Boeing’s production line. Boeing has also converted 34 757s for DHL.
   FedEx’s investment in new aircraft is being carried in it’s 2007 capital budget.