Carrier Signs Agreement To Postpone Decision Until After 2007

Those of us wondering what UPS will ultimately decide to do with its order for Airbus A380 Freighters, will have to wait a little longer. The cargo company signed an agreement Thursday that sets a timetable for deciding the status of the 10-plane deal.

The agreement specifies changed delivery dates for the A380F... and provides for possible termination of the original purchase agreement by either party after this year. Deliveries of UPS's first A380s were originally scheduled to begin in 2009, and run through 2012.

Although the company did not specify any new delivery dates, it is possible UPS would not see its first plane until late-2010 at the earliest.

"UPS's decision to purchase the A380 freighter was based on a lengthy evaluation of our future network needs to meet customer demands across a variety of global trade lanes," said Bob Lekites, UPS's vice president of Airline and International Operations. "Those needs still exist and UPS has been carefully evaluating various options since Airbus announced production delays late last year."

"This agreement will provide us additional time to evaluate our network requirements and make a decision once and for all as to how best to ensure service to our customers," Lekites added.

As Aero-News reported, rival cargo operator FedEx cancelled its order for 10 of the mammoth freight haulers last November. Together will aircraft leasing company ILFC's decision to switch its order for five A380 freighters to passenger planes, that left UPS as the only A380F customer.

Analysts also speculated the cost of developing a freighter variant of the A380 might not be worth it to Airbus, for only one customer.

FMI: www.ups.com, www.airbus.com