Package delivery operator UPS plans three more European regional hubs to support expected strong growth in a market that "is still under supplied", says UPS Europe president John Warrick. He adds that while he cannot guarantee continued double-digit sales growth, "there is room for expansion in Europe. The US market is mature at the moment, [but] there aren't many in Europe doing what we do."
As well as the company's main European hub at Cologne, UPS operates smaller regional hubs at the UK's East Midlands Airport, Madrid, Malmo and Paris Charles de Gaulle. Warrick believes the company will need three more hubs for northern, southern and western Europe, to bypass the Cologne hub if traffic volumes justify it.
UPS has yet to decide on Boeing 747 or Airbus A380-800F freighters for fleet expansion, Warrick says, with a decision due by 2004. The freighter would need to be in service by 2010. UPS recently introduced the first of two Airbus A300F4 freighters into service from Cologne.
Source: Flight International