Good point, but does hauling a jumpseater or two around on a Cargo plane make that company a pax operation?
A little UPS History from
http://www.airliners.net/articles/read.main?id=66
The company filled its normally empty aircraft, which didn’t operate on the weekend, with passengers bound for sunny destinations such as the Bahamas and Purta Plata, Mexico.
“It was a matter of asset utilization,” Spalding said. “Instead of having planes sit idly on the weekends, we used them for passenger service, to generate more revenue.”
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A Quick-Change (QC) 727-100 waits for its most precious cargo. Photo © Andy Vanderheyden[/FONT][FONT=ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva]
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Passengers deplaning from a UPS' passenger flight aboard their 727-100QC. Photo © AirNikon[/FONT]
Almost all o the passengers flying “
brown” liked the service. In a 1997 interview by a
Philadelphia Inquirer staff writer, a passenger noted that she found the meal to be average plane food, but thought the rest of the amenities – from available legroom to cabin-crew service – surprising and pleasant. Most notably, comments came in quips from curious passengers who wondered what a flight on a cargo airline would be like. Flight Attendant Walt Marek said that while greeting customers as they boarded the plane, on almost every flight, when passengers poked their heads through the door for the first time, they exclaimed in mock surprise, “Seats!” One passenger wanted to know if they were going to have to sort mail. Perhaps Flight Attendant Jeff Riddle’s comments best describe the company’s feelings about its new service, “Airline service is all about complaining. People expect a bad flight. Here, we get to turn that belief around. I’m very proud of my job.”
The company’s 727s were modified to seat up to 113 passengers and had 1 to 3 inches more legroom than the coach sections of most airlines. It took 3 to 4 hours to convert the planes.
UPS used contact personnel for ticketing and in-flight service. The company was reported to have spent two and a half-million dollars per aircraft, per conversion, which included seats, galleys, overhead bins, and restrooms.
During its first year, the company flew 50,000 passengers. The next year, 124,000. In the first five weeks alone of 2000,
UPS’ passenger service carried 11,000 passengers. Most of the passengers were booked through a vacation charter service.
But, despite the impressive books and twenty-million dollars in revenue, a
UPS passenger airline was short lived...
“Our passenger service was discontinued in 2001; our competitors were seating close to 200 people per aircraft. For us to remain competitive, we would have had to invest long-term in the venture. Instead, we decided to discontinue the service and focus on our core business of parcel delivery.” Said Spalding.
