New UPS cargo flight aims to bring faster delivery times

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - The holidays are one of the biggest times of the year for online shopping. This year, people in the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry could see some packages arriving sooner, thanks to a new cargo flight by UPS.

The first flight that UPS is adding made its way into Savannah on Wednesday. UPS says the flight will help deliver packages earlier and pick up packages later which overall, will give people more time to order and send packages.

It couldn’t be coming at a better time of year with the holidays right around the corner and online sales accounting for more and more holiday gifts every year.

According to Shopify, 93% of holiday shoppers will buy at least some gifs online.

47% of holiday shoppers say that they’ll purchase all or most of their holiday gifts online.

That’s no small number when it comes down to dollars and cents. The National Retail Federation says that online sales are expected to increase between 7% and 9% this holiday season, accounting for between $273 billion and $278 billion in sales.

UPS has seen the growth that this area of the country has had and made it a priority to create a hub here.

“This area of the country is really growing and we want to serve our customers better and we know that there is a great opportunity from the origin pick up site but also from the destination site. Well, that affects everybody not just from the delivery perspective, but I will be able to get our drivers on the street up to an hour earlier,” said UPS Air Operations Vice President Dave Ortone.

The UPS cargo flight will run daily and serve package facilities in Hilton Head, Parris Island, as well as Swainsboro, Statesboro, and Savannah.

According to UPS, each flight can carry 88,000 pounds worth of packages. That’s 15 containers worth.