UPS TO BUY CHALLENGE AIR CARGO

   United Parcel Service has signed a letter of intent to buy Miami-based
all-cargo airline Challenge Air Cargo, industry sources say.
   UPS is expected to announce a deal with Challenge Monday afternoon. A
media advisory released by UPS on Friday said that the company "will be
announcing an important new initiative that will be key to UPS’s
international growth and expansion."
   Bill F. Spohrer, Challenge’s president and chief executive officer, has
said he will leave the airline in December, according to industry sources.
Spohrer started Challenge more than 20 years ago, flying flowers from Latin
America to Miami. The airline is now a major player in the U.S./Latin
America air freight market and will give UPS’s expansion plans in the
region a major boost.
   Challenge and UPS have been operating joint services to and from Brazil
since last September. UPS also has used Challenge for service to the
Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Honduras and Costa Rica.