UPS retires fleet of MD-11 planes after Louisville crash

UPS had 26 MD-11 planes, which made up about 9% of its total fleet of aircraft.

After both UPS and FedEx grounded their MD-11s, the Federal Aviation Administration prohibited further flight of MD-11s until they could be inspected with corrective actions taken. The MD-11s in operation at the time of the crash were all cargo aircraft.

“Over the next year or so, we will replace much of that capacity with new, more efficient Boeing 767 aircraft,” UPS CEO Carol Tomé said.

The company plans to take delivery of 18 new Boeing 767s over the next 15 months, including 15 in 2026.

The announcement of the retirement of MD-11s came Tuesday as part of UPS’ fourth quarter earnings report. The company said it was an acceleration of its fleet modernization plans.

While the MD-11s were grounded, UPS still had to continue operating through the peak holiday season — its busiest time of the year. The company repositioned some aircraft to the U.S. from other parts of the world, moved more packages by ground and leased other planes, said UPS Chief Financial Officer Brian Dykes.

That meant an additional $50 million in lease costs to replace the MD-11 capacity in the fourth quarter.

“With the learnings from operating during peak season, we made the decision to accelerate the retirement of our MD-11 fleet, which was completed in the fourth quarter,” Dykes said.

The move resulted in an after-tax charge of $137 million for the write-off of the MD-11 fleet in its fourth quarter financial results.

UPS will also have increased expense for leased planes this year as it awaits the gradual delivery of the 767s.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the Louisville plane crash.