United Parcel Service (UPS) was founded in 1907 in Seattle, Washington, when 19-year-old James E. (“Jim”) Casey borrowed $100 from a friend, and established, with partner Claude Ryan, the American Messenger Company, whose services included running errands and delivering packages, notes, baggage and even food from restaurants. In 1913, American merged with a rival messenger service, the Motorcycle Delivery Company, creating Merchants Parcel Delivery, and switched its focus from a messenger service to package delivery for retail stores. In 1915, at the behest of Charlie Soderstrom, Merchant’s began painting their vehicles brown because the color hid dirt well. In 1919, the company expanded outside …show more content…
In 2003, the acronym “UPS” was adopted as the company’s formal name (Burris, 2004; Department of the Treasury (TRE), 2003; “United Parcel Service, Inc. - Company Profile,” …show more content…
In order to better compete with FedEx, UPS purchased nine used Boeing 727 aircraft in 1981 from Braniff Airlines, their first ever purchase of aircraft for air cargo use. Initially, UPS did not directly challenge FedEx’s overnight service due to the costs required to establish the necessary fleet; choosing to, instead, continue offering its two-day delivery. However, in 1982, UPS began operations at their new hub located at the Louisville International Airport in Louisville, Kentucky in order to accommodate their newly introduced Next Day Air Service, which charged about half of FedEx 's rate. By 1985, UPS Next Day Air service was available in the 48 contiguous states and Puerto Rico, with Hawaii and Alaska being added later. As a “ground service” company not yet licensed to operate their own aircraft, UPS contracted with a number of different carriers, such as Orion International Airlines, Evergreen International Airlines, Interstate Airlines and Ryan International Airline, to operate their aircraft. United Parcel Service continued to build its fleet, and in 1987, purchased 110 aircraft for $1.8 billion, making it the tenth largest “airline” in the United States (U.S.). In 1988, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorized UPS to operate its own aircraft; officially making UPS an airline, and resulting in the