Summary
- Qatar Airways Cargo sold its last two Boeing 747-8Fs to UPS, as a part of its technique to deal with operating the 777F.
- UPS acquired the 747-8Fs to switch a few of its MD-11s and improve efficiency and sustainability in its fleet.
Cargo carrier UPS (United Parcel Service) has added two ex-Qatar Airways Cargo Boeing 747-8Fs to its fleet.
Background
Earlier this week, Easy Flying reported that Qatar Airways Cargo had quietly removed the last two Boeing 747-8Fs from its fleet. Liesbeth Oudkerk, certainly one of the executives at Qatar Airways Cargo, spoke in a panel discussion in Amsterdam last week and said that the cargo airline would deal with operating the 777F.
![Qatar Airways Cargo Boeing 747-8F departing Luxembourg shutterstock_1669338214](https://static1.simpleflyingimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/qatar-airways-cargo-boeing-747-8f-departing-luxembourg-shutterstock_1669338214.jpeg)
Boeing 747-8F Retirement? Qatar Airways Appears To Have Quietly Removed The Freighter
Qatar Airways Cargo will pivot to operating the Boeing 777F, which can include the 777-8F.
Oudkerk said,
“Qatar Airways will soon transition to solely operating B777 freighters in its fleet after finalising a deal to sell its two 747-8Fs. Qatar Airways accomplished the sale agreement as a part of its technique to streamline its freighter fleet across the 777.”
In response to data from ch-aviation, the airline has 27 lively 777-200 freighters and another on order. Additionally it is a future 777-8F (777X) operator, with an order for 34 planes.
Photo: Fasttailwind | Shutterstock
In Easy Flying’s coverage earlier this week, it was reported that certainly one of the ultimate two 747-8Fs had already been registered by UPS in the USA. A7-BGA was registered as N634UP, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued the certificate to Boeing Aircraft Holdings on February 9. On the time, A7-BGB had not been registered within the US, but that has now modified, in line with data from planespotters.net
Now confirmed
The last 747-8F in Qatar Airways’ fleet, A7-BGB, delivered to the airline in September 2017, doesn’t yet have a US tail number but shows as ‘due’ to UPS. In response to data from Flightradar24, the aircraft continues to be in operation for Qatar Airways and is currently operating a flight from Doha to an undisclosed location.
The addition of the freighters was further confirmed by UPS’ Chief Financial Officer, Brian Newman. In response to The Stat, Newman shared during an analyst call after the corporate’s Q4 2023 financial results presentation that UPS had acquired two 747-8Fs from Qatar Airways Cargo.
“The 2 planes were picked up through Qatar. And really, it’s a part of a broader airline technique to retire a number of the MD-11s by way of efficiency and sustainability.”
In response to ch-aviation, UPS has 299 aircraft in its fleet, 263 lively, and one other 36 in maintenance. The cargo airline operates aircraft from three manufacturers: Airbus, Boeing, and McDonnell Douglas. Its largest sub-fleet is Boeing 767-300F, of which UPS operates 78, and it’s awaiting delivery of one other 21. The Boeing 757-200PF just isn’t far behind, with 75 planes.
ups
Photo: Phuong D. Nguyen | Shutterstock
Below is the total breakdown of the UPS fleet today:
Aircraft |
Lively |
Inactive |
Total |
To be delivered |
Airbus A300-600F |
44 |
8 |
52 |
— |
Boeing 747-400 (BCF) |
1 |
1 |
2 |
— |
Boeing 747-400FSCD |
10 |
1 |
11 |
— |
Boeing 747-8F |
27 |
2 |
29 |
— |
Boeing 757-200PF |
70 |
5 |
75 |
— |
Boeing 767-300ER |
— |
2 |
2 |
— |
Boeing 767-300ER(BCF) |
1 |
3 |
4 |
— |
Boeing 767-300ER (BDSF) |
3 |
1 |
4 |
— |
Boeing 767-300F |
76 |
2 |
78 |
21 |
MD-11F |
31 |
11 |
42 |
— |
Only 200 MD-11s are lively worldwide, operated by three carriers: UPS, FedEx, and Western Global Airlines. UPS has the second-largest and second-youngest MD-11 fleet, with 42 aircraft averaging 29.5 years of age. FedEx still has 64 in its fleet, but only half are listed as lively. Western Global has 16, but only two are listed as lively, and data shows it continues to be awaiting another.