<p>United Parcel Service Inc. has ordered 10 Airbus A380 planes, super-jumbo jets capable of carrying 330,000 pounds of cargo, as the shipping giant moves to expand the capacity of its air network to accommodate strong international growth.</p><p>In a related development, UPS also cut a previous order for smaller A300s from the European aircraft maker _ from 90 planes to 53.</p><p>The A380s will be delivered beginning in 2009 and continuing through 2012, and they will be used on U.S. to Asia routes, UPS spokesman Norman Black said. The deal also includes an option to buy 10 more planes.</p><p>Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The type of engine has not yet been selected, but may be by the end of the year, Black said.</p><p>The international volume of Atlanta-based UPS increased 13.2 percent in the third quarter last year, with Asian shipments soaring 29 percent.</p><p>Black said the A380 was chosen because "There's no other airplane like this."</p><p>He noted that the aircraft has a range of 5,600 nautical miles. Airbus rival Boeing's 747, which are among UPS' fleet of heavy jets, has a range of 2,600 nautical miles and a capacity of 240,000 pounds of cargo, Black said.</p><p>With limited landing slots in Asian countries _ for example, just 18 in China _ UPS has to increase the use of the planes it flies there, Black said.</p><p>"If you can't add planes, you have to find another way to add capacity," he said.</p><p>UPS had an order for Airbus A300s to 53 planes from an initial count of 90. About 40 A300s have been delivered so far, and the remaining 13 planes will be delivered by July 2006, UPS said. Black cited the same reason _ the advantage of the larger planes on Asian routes.</p><p>"We didn't need as many of the A300s as originally ordered," he said.</p><p>Of 268 heavy jets in the company's fleet, 228 are Boeing, Black said.</p><p>Last week, Boeing Co. said it finished 2004 with 285 deliveries of commercial airplanes, matching its estimate but trailing Airbus for a second straight year. Last month, Airbus SAS said it was on track to deliver as many as 320 aircraft, up from 305 the previous year when it surpassed Boeing for the first time.</p>
