✈️ Exclusive Benefits for Readers
Verified codes to save on your next trip.
After the fatal plane crash in Louisville, UPS accelerated the retirement of all its aircraft MD-11, putting an end to 25 years of service in the cargo airline. Photo by Sunil Gupta
The fourth quarter of 2025 not only marked the accounting closing for UPS, but also the final point for one of the most emblematic—and recently questioned—aircraft in its fleet.. In a move that the company describes as an "acceleration of its modernization", UPS has completed the official recall of all its models MD-11.
Inglorious goodbye to MD-11 at UPS
The decision to leave these planes on the ground was not only operational, but it had a direct impact on the company's books. According to the latest results report:
- UPS recorded an accounting charge of $137 million dollars specifically for the decommissioning of the MD-11 fleet.
- This amount is part of a total of $238 million in exceptional charges that affected earnings per share this quarter.
Although the official report focuses on "network efficiency", It is evident that the transition towards a younger and safer fleet became a top priority at the end of 2025.
Despite the impact of the MD-11 retirement, UPS showed notable resilience as the year closed:
| Concept | Q4 Result 2025 |
| Consolidated income | $24.5 billion |
| Operating profit (tight) | $2.9 billion |
| Earnings per share (tight) | $2.38 |
A strategic turn towards 2026
The CEO of UPS, Carol Tomé, highlighted that 2025 It was a year of difficult but necessary decisions to build a more agile network. With the definitive departure of MD-11 and the gradual reduction of Amazon volume (the famous glide-down), The company projects that 2026 It will be the "turning point" to resume sustained growth.
«I want to thank UPS employees around the world for their tireless commitment… 2025 “It was a year of considerable progress as we took steps to strengthen our revenue quality.”, Tome stated..
The withdrawal of the MD-11 cannot be read simply as an accounting maneuver of $137 millions. For the aeronautical community and for UPS, This goodbye has a much deeper background and leaves behind a lot of history and 43 airplanes of this model that passed through its enormous fleet of 256 aircraft.
Although the MD-11 was for decades the long-range “workhorse”, Its reputation was always marked by being an airplane that did not forgive mistakes.. Your design, with a critical center of gravity and high approach speeds, made it a constant challenge for the pilots. When operational efficiency is marred by tragedy, the cost of keeping a legend on the air becomes simply unsustainable.
The fatal accident that preceded this decision acted as the definitive catalyst. Which UPS describes in its report as an "accelerated modernization" is, In fact, the recognition that modern aviation no longer has room for such narrow margins of error.
Hoy, the MD-11 is retired to make way for a more predictable twin-engine fleet, efficient and, above all, insurance. An iconic silhouette plane is leaving, but the lesson remains that, in this industry, security will always be the most important metric, even above any earnings report. The "turning point" that Carol Tomé speaks of to 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.
✈️ Exclusive Benefits for Readers
Search here for hotels ALL over the world at the best price.
