Boeing announced a major order for its 747-8 Jumbo Freighter, doubling the current poor backlog for 15 aircraft.
Boeing announced a major order for its 747-8 Jumbo Freighter, doubling the current poor backlog for 15 aircraft.
Global logistics major UPS ordered 14 Boeing 747-8s with an option to purchase an additional 14 of these cargo airplanes to meet increased demand for the company’s air shipping services.
The 747-8s will enable UPS to begin a cascade of aircraft route reassignments that will add significant air capacity to the company’s busiest lanes, thereby optimizing global air network capacity well beyond the impact of adding new cargo jets.
The deal will breath life into Boeing's four engined widebody aircraft program whose production is being reduced to 0.5 per month due to reduced market demand.
Boeing will deliver the 14 aircraft between 2017 and 2020. The value of the contract was not disclosed.
The new jumbo freighters will be added to the UPS’s existing operating fleet of more than 500 aircraft.
The 747-8 freighters carry 34 shipping containers on its main deck and 14 in its lower compartments. The -8 has a cargo capacity of 307,600 pounds, or approximately 30,000 packages and a range of 4,340 nautical miles.
