UPS Ordering 14 Boeing 747-8 Airplanes in $5.3 Billion Deal
UPS Inc. is ordering 14 Boeing Co. 747-8 airplanes and holds options for another 14 of the air freighters, tossing a lifeline to the venerable jumbo jet.
The deal is valued at $5.3 billion based on list prices, before discounts that are customary for aircraft purchases, and could provide the first signs of an air cargo recovery that would spur demand for the iconic hump-backed plane dubbed the “Queen of the Skies.”
UPS ranks No. 1 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.
UPS will deploy the front-loading cargo planes on international routes while shifting some earlier-model 747s to domestic flying, executives from the Atlanta-based courier said on a conference call Oct. 27.
RELATED: UPS profits rise 3.6% to $1.27 billion in third quarter
Boeing has been counting on a late-decade replacement cycle for older air cargo jets to revive the half-century-old 747 program, whose four-engine air frame is out of favor with passenger carriers.
The sale almost doubles Boeing’s current backlog of 15 unfilled 747 orders, according to the Chicago-based manufacturer’s website. Boeing said in July it was slowing 747 production output to six aircraft a year and would have to end the program if new orders didn’t materialize.
