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UPS to Retrofit Air Fleet with Full Facemasks for Pilots

Dépèche transmise le 30 juin 2011 par Business Wire

UPS to Retrofit Air Fleet with Full Facemasks for Pilots

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UPS (NYSE:UPS) today announced it would retrofit the cockpits of its air fleet with quick-donning, full-face oxygen masks with integrated smoke goggles. Installation of the enhanced pilot safety equipment comes at the recommendation of the Joint UPS-Independent Pilots Association (IPA) Safety Task Force.

“These facemasks will be an important inclusion in our cockpit safety environment”

“Safety is an absolute priority for our employees, our customers’ shipments and our aircraft,” said UPS Airlines President Mitch Nichols. “That is why we continue to adopt solutions like these facemasks to further augment the safe operation of our airline.”

Installation on UPS’s Boeing 747-400, MD-11, B-767 and B-757 fleets is expected to take place over the next 24 months, beginning with the MD-11 and 747 fleets. The UPS Airbus A-300 fleet already is equipped with integrated masks.

The new, one-piece facemasks can be put on with one hand in just three seconds, five times faster than the separate oxygen mask and smoke goggle units currently on most aircraft. The new masks meet performance standards for protective breathing equipment established by the Federal Aviation Administration and offer a better fit for crewmembers who wear eyeglasses.

The full-face equipment is manufactured by Zodiac Aerospace, a French conglomerate whose Eros oxygen equipment is used by many carriers, including UPS.

“These facemasks will be an important inclusion in our cockpit safety environment,” said IPA and Safety Task Force member Capt. Bob Brown. “Between the facemasks and the recent addition of the Emergency Vision Assurance System (EVAS), the union and the company are very much in sync on flight safety.”

Since last fall, the UPS-IPA Joint Safety Task Force has been researching strategies and technologies for improving flight safety. Focused primarily on in-flight fire mitigation, the group has worked extensively with the FAA, aircraft manufacturers, safety vendors and other industry experts.

Research efforts point to tiered solutions for detecting, managing and suppressing in-flight fires on the flight deck, in cargo compartments, in unit load devices and even within boxes.

The facemasks are the second task force recommendation to be adopted. In April, UPS announced that it would become the first international carrier to equip its air fleet with EVAS, an in-cockpit transparent inflatable vision device designed to allow pilots to see in dense smoke situations.

About the IPA

The Independent Pilots Association was founded in 1990 and is the collective bargaining unit for the 2,800 pilots who operate UPS Airlines. It is headquartered in Louisville.

About UPS

UPS (NYSE:UPS) is a global leader in logistics, offering a broad range of solutions including the transportation of packages and freight; the facilitation of international trade, and the deployment of advanced technology to more efficiently manage the world of business. Headquartered in Atlanta, UPS serves more than 220 countries and territories worldwide. The company can be found on the Web at UPS.com and its corporate blog can be found at blog.ups.com. To get UPS news direct, visit pressroom.ups.com/RSS.