After November Crash, Ups Sends All Of Its Ancient Md-11 Planes Into Not-so-early Retirement

Ryan Fletcher/Getty Images

After nan horrific clang of a 34-year-old McDonnell Douglas MD-11 flown by UPS successful November, nan shipping elephantine has taken nan reasonable measurement of sending each its MD-11s into imperishable retirement. These aged craft were already slated to beryllium pulled retired of nan aerial successful nan adjacent fewer years anyway; it's now evident that they should person been pulled already. UPS will return a $137 cardinal deed successful nan process.

The nonaccomplishment will put a strain connected UPS's operations, arsenic MD-11s accounted for 9% of nan company's aerial fleet, according to NBC News. The world is besides facing a dire shortage of cargo planes successful general, arsenic planemakers for illustration Boeing and Airbus prioritize rider airliners complete freighters successful their accumulation schedules. In fact, that accumulation compression is simply a large portion of nan logic why much and much cargo companies are keeping their planes successful nan aerial agelong past nan emblematic status property of 25 years. That continues to beryllium a risk, and nan devastating consequences are now clear.

Ryan Fletcher/Getty Images

Meanwhile, FedEx is claiming for nan infinitesimal that it will spot up its MD-11s and get them backmost into nan aerial erstwhile nan FAA lifts its post-crash grounding order. According to Simple Flying, FedEx has 58 specified planes successful its fleet; Western Global Airlines has a further 14. Every MD-11 is simply a grizzled ancient, primitively made by a institution that was agelong agone acquired by Boeing. Now that UPS has made its move, expect location to beryllium unit connected these companies to travel suit.

Hopefully, UPS won't beryllium operating pinch a reduced fleet for long. It ought to beryllium getting 18 Boeing 767 freighters successful nan adjacent 15 months. Though this is simply a decades-old model, nan existent planes will beryllium caller retired of nan factory. But Boeing has complete 5,000 planes connected backorder, galore of which are rider airliners, which are besides severely needed to switch aging planes. Demand for aerial services is conscionable surging past accumulation capacity, and this business looks for illustration it's getting worse, not better.