What do you do when the aircraft you operate have plenty of life left in them, but their cockpit technology is becoming increasingly outmoded? Global logistics provider UPS Airlines has devised an innovative solution, as Airliner World’s Craig West finds out…
The rapid advancement of technology means that the average computer is usually out of date almost as soon as it’s purchased. The same can also be said of avionics, particularly given the emerging trend of airspace modernisation and the introduction of new communication, navigation and surveillance requirements.
The systems necessary to operate in such environments are installed as standard on new-generation airliners, but those flying older types face a quandary as to how they keep their mature fleets current in the face of such changes. Some carriers opt to phase out their ageing aircraft in favour of more modern technology, but this can be an expensive endeavour and, in certain cases, there simply may not be a viable alternative available on the market.
This is the case for UPS Airlines and its Airbus A300F4-622R freighters. The 52-strong fleet was delivered between 2000 and 2006 and were among the last examples off the production line, but acc…
