UPS Orders 8 Boeing 747-400s

United Parcel Service Inc. said it ordered eight Boeing Co. 747-400 aircraft valued at as much as $1.9 billion as international deliveries grow.

UPS, based in Atlanta, didn’t disclose terms of the order. The planes carry a list price, not including customer discounts, of as much as $236 million each. The planes will be delivered starting in June 2007, UPS spokesman Mark Giuffre said.

The company is buying directly from Boeing for the first time since 1993. It chose the planes in part because it couldn’t get other jumbo aircraft quickly enough, Giuffre said.

The order is a boost for Chicago-based Boeing, which has dominated the jumbo jet market with its 747 for more than 30 years and is trying to stave off competition from Europe’s Airbus A380.

After losing its spot as the biggest commercial airplane maker to Airbus, Boeing has regained momentum in recent months with orders for its new 787 airliner and updated versions of the 747.