UPS begins talks with Boeing for possible order

United Parcel Service Inc. has begun talks with Boeing Co. for a possible deal after the company canceled its order for 10 Airbus A380 super jumbo freighters, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

UPS declined to specify which models it is considering, and a Boeing spokesman declined to comment. But people familiar with the talks said UPS is eyeing Boeing's planned 747-8 jumbo jet, said the report.

UPS's commitment to the A380 freighter had been uncertain because it was the only remaining customer out of four initial buyers, and the delivery date of its order recently slipped to 2012 from 2009.

The shipping company terminated its order this week, which had a catalogue value of roughly 3 billion dollars. The Airbus has said in a statement that it was "disappointed" by UPS's decision, but adding the move would free up Airbus to focus on the more important passenger version of the two-deck plane.

2007-03-04