US express cargo operator FedEx is working on the expectation that the grounded Boeing MD-11 freighter fleet will return to service in spring next year.
Operators of the MD-11F were forced to suspend operations with the type after the fatal accident involving a UPS aircraft at Louisville in November.
Speaking during a second-quarter briefing, FedEx chief financial officer John Dietrich said the company’s current outlook “reflects that those aircraft will return to service in the fourth quarter”.
FedEx’s fourth quarter runs from March to May 2026.
He states that the incremental costs associated with the grounding reached $25 million in November – the last month of the second quarter – but will be “significantly higher” in December.
“It’s peak season,” he says. “It’s an expensive time of year to be getting outsourced lift to begin with, let alone when you have a fleet grounded.”
Dietrich indicates that FedEx is prepared for an overall $175 million impact from the grounding, of which the “majority” will occur in the third quarter.
FedEx owns 34 MD-11Fs, says chief executive Raj Subramaniam, of which 25 were in operation at the time of the grounding.
He says the company is “working closely” with Boeing and the US FAA to “ensure the safety” of the fleet.
“Our first priority will always be safety above all…we’re working hand-in-hand with the authorities on the protocol to get these aircraft back in flight,” he says.
“We have a phenomenal set of aircraft technicians who are working on it. We’re waiting for the right protocol to get it released.”
Subramaniam says the company “swiftly and successfully” implemented changes to its network to cope with the withdrawal of MD-11F capacity.
He says 18 MD-11F flights were US domestic operations and FedEx’s contingencies have included “trucking more volume in the US instead of flying”.
Some of the volume has also been shifted to other aircraft types within the FedEx fleet, although the company has also turned to third-party lift to add capacity.
Subramaniam states that, as part of the measures, FedEx has adjusted maintenance times of the remaining fleet while ensuring it stays compliant with regulations.
Prior to the contingency action, he says, the company lost about 4% of its global cargo capacity during its busiest season.
“As a result our cross-functional teams are working around the clock to minimise service disruption,” he states, and FedEx has been “able to mitigate the operational and financial impacts” of the MD-11F suspension.
FedEx says the impact on its financial performance up to the close of the second quarter has been “immaterial” but adds that a “prolonged” grounding directive “could materially impact” its capacity and financial results for the remainder of the year.
