NEW YORK (Reuters) - United Parcel Service Inc (N:UPS) said on Thursday it ordered 14 Boeing (N:BA) 747-8 cargo jets, a deal worth $5.3 billion (4.34 billion pounds) at list prices that potentially breathes new life into an aircraft Boeing had warned it might cancel.
The UPS order, which includes options for 14 more of the hump-backed planes, suggests the freight company expects an upturn in air cargo after years of anemic growth.
"These aircraft are a strategic investment for increased capacity for UPS customers around the globe," Brendan Canavan, president of UPS Airlines, said in a statement released by Boeing.
"The 747-8 will allow UPS to upsize our network in both new and existing markets," he added.
The purchase adds significantly to Boeing's order book in a year in which it and rival Airbus (PA:AIR) have struggled to sell widebody aircraft.
Sales of the 747-8, the latest version of the four-engine plane that first flew in 1969, have been slowing. Boeing has cut production to six a year, and in July warned it might end production of the plane altogether.
Similar-sized two-engine planes that are more fuel efficient have largely eclipsed the 747's passenger mission. Sales have also slowed for Airbus' competing four-engine A380.
But the 747-8 freighter has a special hinged nose that gives it a unique ability to carry large cargo.