Shore Guy:
Do I take it from your response that some diesel eights won't be going to the boneyard? Beautiful airplanes. Although I spent many a hand numbing night pushing containers down that unheated deathtube, I have to say I appreciate the aesthetics.
I was always curious, though: Why does UPS seem to have a "feast or famine" attitude toward aircraft acquisition? What are the operating economies of flying near-40 year old eights and classics from the same operation as fleets of brand spanking new PF variants? I imagine the reasons must be pretty good...UPS was never one to waste much money (at least not on the hired help, ask my pay stubs).
Also, what is it about UPS's route structure that won't support an "indigenous" light aircraft fleet (a la FedEx), rather than what I imagine to be the unconcionably expensive 100-150 leased Lear nights we used to have at SDF during peak?
Regards,
TRF.