The airline's primary hub in the United States is at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, where it built a 5,200,000 square foot facility known as UPS Worldport.

Similar to the US Postal Service, UPS packages were transported as baggage on commercial airline flights.

After World War II, UPS (in the process of acquiring common carrier rights for every address in the United States) revisited the idea of shipping packages by air.

Initially unprofitable, Blue Label Air became popular as its speed created enough demand to maintain a profit.

In 1975, UPS started its first international operations as it expanded into Canada, with an additional expansion into West Germany a year later.

In 1980, UPS opened its first major hub for sorting packages transported by aircraft, located in Louisville, Kentucky.

Located at the westernmost point of the Eastern time zone, Louisville is accessible (by jet aircraft) across the majority of the contiguous United States in less than three hours.

Similar to Louisville, Anchorage was chosen for its strategic geographical position, accessible to 90% of the industrialized world in less than 91⁄2 hours flying distance.

[16][17] In 1986, in an effort to obtain service rights to Japan, UPS entered into a joint venture with DHL, named International Parcel Express (IPX).

[13] IPX was rejected for use in Japan, leading UPS to purchase the DHL share of the joint venture in 1987.

[13][14] At the 1988 founding of UPS Airlines, the company operated a route network serving 41 countries connecting the United States and Canada to Asia and Europe.

To expand and modernize its jet fleet, at the end of 1987, UPS purchased dedicated freighter variants of the Boeing 757.

In place of a hush kit, the QF conversion changed the aircraft from Pratt & Whitney JT8D to Rolls-Royce Tay turbofans.

With most of its aircraft flying primarily on weeknights, the airline was eager to find other ways to produce income from its fleet.

[15] In April 2001, UPS Airlines launched its first direct flights to China, providing service six days a week.

[15] In February 2007, UPS Airlines nearly doubled the size of its 767 fleet, as an order was placed for 27 additional freighters, entering service between 2009 and 2012.

[24] The remaining pilots not furloughed demonstrated unprecedented unity by not flying overtime while colleagues were laid off.

Key components of the agreement were: immediate increases of 14.65% and a signing bonus in place of retroactive pay; 3% annual wage increases through the span of the contract; enhanced pension benefits; crew rest enhancements, including reduced duty period limits for overnight and international flights; additional sleep facilities at major gateways; and sleep modules in UPS Boeing 767 aircraft.

In October 2016, UPS Airlines announced a $5.2 billion agreement to purchase 14 Boeing 747-8F freighter aircraft (with an option for 14 more).

[30] The introduction of the 747-8F fleet allows UPS to introduce its longest-ever flight, flying nonstop from Louisville (Worldport) to its gateway in Dubai International Airport (nearly 6,700 miles).

[33] In March 2023, the airline began the acquisition of two Boeing 747-8Fs previously operated by AirBridge Cargo; the aircraft are intended to begin service during 2024.

[36] Each day, UPS Airlines flies to over 220 countries and territories worldwide, serving 388 airports in the United States with 936 flight segments and 378 international airports with 755 flight segments[3] Using the traditional hub-and-spoke model, UPS Airlines operates through its central facility, Worldport, in Louisville, Kentucky.

UPS Airlines estimates that this procedure saves an average of 250 to 465 lbs (110 to 210 kilograms) of fuel per flight.

CDA is part of the Federal Aviation Administration's long-term "Next-Gen" air traffic control plan.