825 Lotus Ave.
Louisville, KY
40213
phone – +1.800.535.2345
UPS Airlines is a major American cargo airline and a wholly owned subsidiary of United Parcel Service (UPS), headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. It is one of the largest cargo airlines globally, serving over 815 destinations in more than 220 countries and territories. Operating under a hub-and-spoke model, its primary hub is the UPS Worldport at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, a 5.2-million-square-foot facility handling approximately 416,000 packages per hour. Secondary hubs in the U.S. include Chicago Rockford, Philadelphia, Ontario (California), and Dallas/Fort Worth, with international hubs in Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. The airline’s fleet of nearly 300 aircraft includes Boeing 757-200F, 767-300F, 747-400F, 747-8F, Airbus A300-600RF, and McDonnell Douglas MD-11F, all compliant with strict noise-reduction standards. UPS Airlines employs pilots represented by the Independent Pilots Association and is integral to UPS’s global logistics network, delivering 22.4 million packages daily in 2024.
Brief HistoryUPS began air transport in 1929, shipping packages as baggage on commercial flights, such as United Airlines’ Ford Trimotors, but discontinued this service by 1931 due to the Great Depression. Air service resumed in 1953 with UPS Blue Label Air, offering two-day coast-to-coast delivery. The 1978 Airline Deregulation Act enabled UPS to establish its own airline, leading to the opening of its Louisville hub in 1980. Initially, UPS relied on contractors like Evergreen and Orion Air, using converted Boeing and Douglas aircraft. In 1986, a joint venture with DHL (International Parcel Express) aimed to secure Japan service rights but was abandoned, with UPS purchasing DHL’s share. UPS Airlines officially launched in January 1988, adopting Orion Air’s flight crews and serving 41 countries. The airline expanded its fleet with Boeing 757s (1987) and 767s (1995), and acquired Challenge Air Cargo (2000) and Menlo Worldwide Forwarding (2004) to boost Latin American and heavy-freight operations. The Worldport hub saw major expansions from 1999–2010, growing to 5.2 million square feet. In 2001, UPS launched direct flights to China, and introduced “around the world” routes. From 1997–2001, it briefly operated passenger flights using converted Boeing 727-100QCs. In 2019, UPS Flight Forward, a drone delivery subsidiary, became the first to receive FAA Part 135 certification.
