DOT makes final the award of new China flights to UPS

The U.S. Department of Transportation today granted final authorization for UPS (NYSE:UPS) to expand its air operations to and from China.

The DOT issued a Final Order granting UPS three additional frequencies per week to serve China, starting in 2006. The additional flights will allow UPS to continue growing its business throughout the region, providing services ranging from express delivery to general freight.

UPS currently flies from the United States to China 12 times per week and will expand that number to 18 this year. Today’s decision grants UPS two additional frequencies to Shanghai and one new frequency to Guangzhou, effective next year.

The new frequencies will allow UPS to better serve customers by offering full seven-day-a-week service to Guangzhou and increasing capacity to Shanghai on the two busiest days of the week, Thursday and Saturday. The frequencies also mark an important step as UPS progresses toward establishing a regional air hub in Shanghai.

“This enhances UPS’s ability to address supply chain needs in trade between the United States and China as well as throughout the world,” said Mike Eskew, UPS chairman and CEO.

UPS entered the China market in 1988 in partnership with China’s Sinotrans and then began direct air service in 2001. In 2004, UPS announced an agreement with Sinotrans to take direct control of UPS’s international express operations in China’s largest and most important cities by the end of this year.

UPS is the world’s largest package delivery company and a global leader in supply chain services, offering an extensive range of options for synchronizing the movement of goods, information and funds. Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., UPS serves more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. UPS’s stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (UPS), and the company can be found on the Web at UPS.com.