The U.S. Department of Transportation has approved United Parcel Service's request to transfer six of its Hong Kong flying rights from two countries so it can inaugurate service to Clark Airport in the Philippines, where an expansion project for the carrier's hub is expected to be completed later this year. UPS has authority to operate 19 fifth-freedom all-cargo frequencies per week under the U.S.-Hong Kong air services agreement, and Friday's decision allows the airline to immediately transfer all four of its service rights to Warsaw, Poland, and two of three rights to Hanoi, Vietnam, to Clark Airport. The bilateral memorandum of understanding permits U.S. all-cargo carriers to operate up to 12 weekly frequencies between Hong Kong and Clark, and currently only three of those frequencies are allocated, all to FedEx. UPS said it plans to operate the new route using Boeing 767-300 freighter aircraft. The DOT in April approved Asia Pacific Airlines' request to operate scheduled service seven times per week on the new route, but UPS said it strongly objects to any further requests for relief and will move to have the department withdraw the frequencies from Asia Pacific Airlines if it doesn't commence service by the current deadline of Oct. 31.
United Parcel Service IncDOT approval allows UPS to transfer Hong Kong rights to Clark, enabling new service and hub expansion.
FedEx CorporationUPS objects to Asia Pacific Airlines' frequencies and may seek withdrawal if service doesn't start by Oct. 31.
