LOUISVILLE — United Parcel Service received a giant delivery Tuesday as a one-time passenger airliner converted into a freighter arrived to become an international workhorse for the shipping company.

        A youth orchestra was drowned out by roaring engines as the MD-11 taxied toward a hangar at UPS' main air hub. The din was a welcome sound to UPS mechanic Bill Holman, who will help maintain the plane.

        “This is going to be job security,” Mr. Holman said.

        The freighter was the first of 13 MD-11s that UPS has ordered from Boeing Co. Two more are scheduled to arrive by month's end. The rest will be delivered within three years.

        UPS has options for 22 more planes between 2005 and 2010.

        The first three planes used to be part of a Brazilian airline.

        Chris Mahoney, senior vice president of global transportation, said the MD-11 fleet will put UPS on even better footing with competitors.

        “To thrive in a world of global express shipping, you better be quick and you better be fast,” he said. “You better have a comprehensive transportation network that operates as efficiently and reliably as possible. ... The MD-11 is going to help us do all of that.”

        The plane is slightly smaller than the Boeing 747s that UPS uses on many international routes. But the MD-11 can fly farther before refueling, which gets packages to their destinations more quickly while not sacrificing much payload, said UPS spokesman Mark Giuffre.

        The MD-11 can fly up to 4,400 nautical miles without stopping and will carry loads averaging 188,000 pounds, he said. The 747s generally carry 200,000 to 220,000 pounds of cargo.

        The three MD-11s will temporarily join UPS' domestic fleet to shoulder some of the workload during the peak holiday season. The planes will switch to Asian routes at the start of 2002, with flights to Hong Kong and Seoul, South Korea, Mr. Giuffre said. Some of those flights will begin in Louisville, he said.

        The Asian market has been growing for UPS, the world's largest package delivery company. The company owns, operates or has on firm order 336 aircraft. It leases additional aircraft during the holiday season.

        The MD-11s added in 2002 and 2003 will augment the Asian routes and also will carry freight to Cologne, Germany, Mr. Giuffre said.

        Bob Lekites, vice president of UPS airlines and international operations, said that adding the MD-11s underscores the company's commitment to international commerce despite global unrest.

        “Global commerce is a powerful force for peace,” he said.

        The MD-11 eventually will become the primary aircraft flying the company's international routes, he said.

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