UPS Inc., the world's largest shipping carrier, announced Friday its intention to cancel later this year its order for 10 Airbus A380 freighters.

"The final cancellation decision will be formally presented to Airbus on the first date specified under an agreement reached last week that gives either party the right to terminate the order," said UPS, also known as United Parcel Service, in a press release.

Last week's agreement specified a revised delivery schedule that delayed UPS's first A380 jumbo freighter from 2010 to 2012. UPS originally expected its first freighter in 2009.

The Atlanta, Georgia-based UPS had intended to complete an internal study of whether it could wait until 2012 for the aircraft, but now it understands Airbus is diverting employees from the A380 freighter program to work on the passenger version of the plane, according to the press release.

"Based on our previous discussions, we had felt that 2012 was a reasonable estimate of when Airbus could supply this plane," said David Abney, UPS's chief operating officer and president of UPS Airline. "We no longer are confident that Airbus can adhere to that schedule."

UPS, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2007, ordered its first 10 A380 aircraft in January 2005 for use on U.S.-Asia routes. The deal included an option to buy 10 more planes.

The UPS announcement follows a previous decision by Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx Corp. to cancel its order of A380s.

Responding to the new plane's delays, FedEx canceled its A380 order with Toulouse, France-based Airbus in November and announced it would purchase 15 U.S.-made Boeing 777 freighters with an option to buy 15 more.

UPS said that it remains confident of ensuring a reliable service to its customers in the future, but it did not announce any aircraft orders to make up for the A380 cancellation.

Source: Xinhua