The deal came weeks after Delta Air Lines Inc. parked the last of its 747 Aircraft, marking the end of U.S. passenger service for the iconic humpbacked plane nicknamed the Queen of the Skies.
The courier is also taking four Boeing 767 freighters as it rushes to keep up with growing demand and parlays gains from the recent U.S. corporate tax cut into stepped-up investment.
The hulking jumbos, built to carry a 137.7-ton payload, are needed as UPS expands its network to profit from burgeoning air shipments in China and other Asian markets.
UPS’s appetite for the 747 means Boeing will continue producing its largest aircraft into the 2020s, more than half a century after the plane started whisking passengers across oceans.
Demand for such four-engine aircraft has fallen as the airframers created twin-engine models, such as the Boeing 777 and Airbus A350, which are able to fly similar numbers of people over long distances.
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