Why UPS and FedEx Still Fly 35 Year Old MD 11 - Against All Logic

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 21:59:00 +0000

December 1986. McDonnell Douglas launches the MD-11 with 52 firm orders from the world's biggest airlines. American, Delta, Singapore Airlines—everyone wanted one.
After just five years American Airlines does something almost unheard of in aviation—they retire their entire MD-11 fleet. Delta follows. Then Singapore Airlines. But here's what makes no sense: while passenger airlines were desperately trying to get rid of these planes, FedEx and UPS were buying them up as fast as they could. FedEx brought the entire American Airlines MD-11 fleet, followed by UPS, which spent 2 billion dollars on an aircraft that passenger airlines called a 'nightmare. And today—35 years after these jets first flew—both companies are still operating them. Not retiring them rather extending their service life. Even after a crash this year that grounded the entire fleet and forced emergency inspections, FedEx pushed their retirement date from 2028 to 2032. UPS? They haven't even set a retirement date at all. So why do UPS and FedEx still fly these 35-year-old, gas-guzzling MD-11s when modern, fuel-efficient alternatives exist?"

Research & Script: Mervin Sousa
Editing: Rishabh
Narration: Oliver