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After the fatal accident atéinmate in Louisville, UPS rushesó the retirement of all its aircraft MD-11, putting an end to 25 añon duty at the airportícargo line. Photo by Sunil Gupta
The fourth quarter of 2025 not just marcó the accounting closing for UPS, but alsoén the end point for one of the planes más emblemáticos —and recently questioned— of your fleet. In a movement thatñídescribed as a «accelerationón de su modernizationón», UPS has completed the official recall of all its models MD-11.
Adiós inglorious to MD-11 at UPS
I decided itóleaving these planes on the ground was not only operational, but it had a direct impact on the company's books. Sayún the úlatest results report:
- UPS registró an accounting position of $137 millions of dóspecial homesíphysically due to the decommissioning of the MD-11 fleet.
- This amount is part of a total of $238 million in exceptional charges that affected earnings per shareón is quarters.
Although the official report focuses on the «network efficiency», It is evident that the transitionón towards a fleet más young and confident she becameó an absolute priority at the end of 2025.
Despite the impact of retirementó# of MD-11s, UPS mostró remarkable resilience in closing the yearñO:
| Concept | Q4 Result 2025 |
| Consolidated income | $24.5 billion |
| Operating profit (tight) | $2.9 billion |
| Earnings per shareón (tight) | $2.38 |
A stratum twistélogical towards 2026
The CEO of UPS, Carol Tomé, I stand outó what 2025 It was añor difficult decisionsíeasy but necessary to build a networkás ágil. With the definitive departure of the MD-11 and the reductionógradual increase in Amazon volume (the famous glide-down), The company projects that 2026 to beá the «turning pointón» to resume sustained growth.
«I want to thank UPS employees around the world for their tireless commitment.… 2025 It was añor considerable progress while takingáWe took measures to strengthen our quality of income», I sayó Tomé.
The withdrawal of the MD-11 cannot be read simply as an accounting maneuver of $137 millions. For the aero communityáutica and for UPS, it's okayós has a much more backgroundás deep and leave behindás a lot of history and 43 airplanes of this model that passed through its enormous fleet of 256 aircraft.
Although the MD-11 it was during déeach the «workhorse» long range, are reputationón was always marked for being an avión who did not forgive mistakes. Your designñO, with a center of gravity críAttic and high approach speedsón, I converted itó in a constant challenge for pilots. When operational efficiency is compromisedñada for the tragedy, the cost of keeping a legend on the air becomes simply unsustainable.
The fatal accident that precededó to this decisionón newsó as the ultimate catalyst. Which UPS describes in his report as a «modernizationón accelerated» es, In fact, the recognition that aviationómodern house no longer has room for meásuch narrow margins of error.
Hoy, the MD-11 is retired to make way for a fleet of twin-engine más predictable, efficient and, above all, insurance. If an avi goesón de silita icónica, but the lesson remainsón of that, in this industry, security will always beá the métrica máIt's important, even above any earnings report. The «turning pointón» what Carol Tom talks abouté for 2026 It's not just financial; It is the beginning of an era where the peace of mind of the crews is the basis of profitability.
