Captain Houston Mills, VP at UPS Airlines
On Wednesday, June 1st, I had the privilege to interview Captain Houston Mills. Captain Mills is the Vice President of Flight Operations and Safety at UPS Airlines. He has over 28 years of experience working for UPS Airlines. A veteran of the US Marine Corps, he served in operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and flew in operations Restore Hope and Southern Watch. He has more than 100 aircraft carrier landings to his credit. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Joshua Kupietzky: How did you start your career in the aviation industry? And I read you served in the US Marines Corps after college. How did you decide to join the Marines Corps?
Houston Mills: I started my aviation career by luck. I was pre-law and playing basketball in college when a Marine recruiter approached me about attending Officer Candidate School (OCS). I didn’t have much interest until he told me it would pay for my law school, room and board, and provide me a paycheck.
After six weeks of OCS, I attended a combined arms exercise where I watched a Marine military aircraft exhibition of helicopters and fighter jets. I was hooked and I asked my recruiter what I needed to do for the opportunity to fly one of those aircraft. After successfully completing several tests, I was guaranteed that after OCS, I could attend flight school. The military gave me the foundation of flying, which led to the opportunity to come to UPS 28 years ago.
JK: The pandemic has significantly expanded the aviation cargo market and grown at a pace never seen before. Do you believe the aviation cargo sector will continue to grow?
HM: UPS continues to pivot toward opportunity. We've made tremendous progress over the last two years. We are leveraging the power of our data to become much more agile under our “Better, not Bigger,” framework. We are investing in the capabilities that matter the most to our customers, and we are winning in the parts of the market that value our end-to-end network like small medium businesses, healthcare, B2B, and large enterprise accounts. We know we are winning because we gain market share. Winning comes down to successfully executing our customer first, people-led, innovation-driven strategy.
JK: In December 2020, you operated the first UPS flight carrying COVID-19 vaccines, and to date, UPS has delivered more than a billion doses all over the world. How has delivering vaccines helped UPS financially, and are you currently delivering vaccines worldwide?
HM: UPS Healthcare has set the global pace for COVID-19 vaccine delivery, supported by the unmatched dedication of UPS employees and the company’s global logistics capabilities and expertise. The global UPS network and dedicated UPS employees not only supported healthcare customers and global organizations, but also joined in public-private partnerships to provide vaccines and cold chain expertise to countries with hard-to-reach populations, ensuring delivery to as many people as possible.
To achieve this, UPS Healthcare mapped roughly 500 trade lanes to enable seamless worldwide vaccine shipments and used more than three million pounds of dry ice to help safely move vaccines. We supported vaccine efforts in more than 110 countries, with a 99.9% on-time performance.
JK: When delivering COVID-19 vaccines, there are demands such as the vaccines are required to be shipped at special temperatures? How were you able to abide by all the requirements and make the logistics work when shipping the vaccines with very minimal time for preparation?
HM: We’ve been helping healthcare companies make their operations more precise, productive, scalable, and smart for over 20 years. The UPS network is purpose-built to flex and scale with demand, allowing us to absorb worldwide vaccine delivery alongside increasing e-commerce package volume and other factors affecting capacity. The continued evolution of our cold chain offerings ensures we are ready for the future and can continue to provide long-term value for our healthcare customers.
JK: What are your thoughts on Amazon and the impact they have had on customer expectations? And Prime Air has been growing at an unprecedented rate, does that concern you, and do you view them as one of your largest competitors?
HM: We have a very good relationship with Amazon. They are our largest customer. We've reached an agreement with Amazon about the packages that we will take into our network and the packages that they will deliver on their behalf. And it's a mutually beneficial relationship.
JK: UPS operates some older, less fuel-efficient aircraft such as the A300 and MD-11. With the rise in fuel costs and older planes burning more fuel than newer aircraft, is it more beneficial in the long run to get newer aircraft that require less fuel than older aircraft in terms of a cost perspective?
HM: It would not be financially beneficial to replace aircraft based on the fluctuating prices of fuel. Instead, we rely on the flight operations employees and crewmember’s collective efforts to utilize the programs and processes we have in place to conserve fuel and promote a more sustainable airline. Our efforts to leave the world a better place is engrained in our culture and UPS delivers on its promises. We have committed to 100% carbon neutrality in 2050 and set clear goals along the way to achieve a lower carbon footprint in a financially and socially responsible way. We’ve used technology and updated designs of our aircraft to reduce carbon intensity of our airline 13% and spent $1B on alternate fuel and advanced technology vehicles and infrastructure since 2005. Our people are at the forefront of our pledge by strengthening our communities with 30 million volunteer hours and planting 50 million trees by 2030.
JK: With the MD-11s aging and the average age climbing to 29 years old. What planes are you looking at to replace the MD-11? Maybe the A350F or 777-8 Freighter?
HM: We talk to both aircraft manufacturers and conversion houses about our needs, and what’s on the market all the time, but UPS doesn’t specifically discuss what we might buy in the future. Our most recent purchase of 19 additional B767s was announced in December 2021. The B767 offers an excellent combination of payload and range, and it supports our sustainability efforts by making our fleet more efficient and improving reliability.
JK: Many new navigational techniques have been tested at your hub in Louisville in recent years. What have been the benefits? And what are some of the advantages of having a ‘super hub’ in Louisville?
HM: UPS Worldport, located at the Muhammad Ali International airport in Louisville KY., is the world’s largest automated package sorting facility. Worldport sorts more than two million packages a day and on an average day we have almost 400 aircraft arrivals and departures.
There are a few reasons the facility is located here. Geographically, Louisville is within a two-hour flight of 75% of the U.S. population. Our location on the western edge of the Eastern Time Zone also gives us an advantage, allowing later drop-off times for next day shipments. Nestled in the Ohio Valley, Louisville also enjoys mild weather that rarely impacts flight operations.Domestically, not all packages travel through Worldport, but a majority of them do. A package shipped from one city to another on the West Coast will stay in regional sorting hubs. Worldport, and it’s smart sorting systems, ensures the packages are routed most efficiently and more packages going to the same location are loaded together. Worldport is our all-points hub, handling shipments from any origin to any destination UPS serves.
Another benefit of Worldport is the scale. The building’s technology can accurately sort more than four million pieces per hour. In fact, the only times most pieces are touched by human hands are when they are being unloaded and again when they’re being loaded for the aircraft. All the sorting is done by technology. Internationally, our facility in Cologne Bonn Airport in Germany employs many of the same processes and technology.
JK: What do you consider your greatest achievement in the airline industry?
HM: I was fortunate to acquire an aviation skillset leveraged by great leaders from my experiences as a college athlete, aviator, and Marine. I was taught to be a servant to others and lead by example. It’s something for which I am passionate. It also means that I get to experience my greatest achievement every day by supporting others to grow and be successful. My background as a Marine fighter pilot, B757/767 Captain, or part of a federal aviation advisory group has allowed me to be an influencer, in a unique way, for the betterment of many groups and this company.
JK: What are your goals for UPS, short- and long-term?
HM: The UPS Airline’s mission has always been to be the world’s safest, most competitive, cost-efficient, and on-time airline where our people enjoy coming to work. By sticking to this mission, we will continue to be successful as an organization, people, and company.
JK: Looking at the global picture, what do you anticipate happening to the cargo industry in the next decade? What would you like to see happen?
HM: UPS works to prepare its people and services, rather than predict what may happen. I mean, no one could have projected a global pandemic. But what we do know, is UPS and its people were prepared and courageously and quickly responded to support worldwide delivery of healthcare goods, products, and services. For more than 110 years we have answered the call to provide reliable delivery service and that’s what we’ll continue to do to remain successful.
JK: We started this interview talking about your background in the aviation industry. What advice do you have for young people trying to start a career in the aviation industry?
HM: My biggest advice is to make sure you are doing that for which you are passionate about. And in doing so, focus and practice positive communication and interpersonal skills, as these are vital to being a successful leader in any career. Whether you’re in a cockpit or in an office setting, it’s important to respectfully communicate with diverse personalities in different situations. By refining these important skills, you’ll see that those around you will look to you for your genuine leadership ability. UPS Founder Jim Casey said, “One measure of your success will be the degree to which you build up others who work with you. While building up others, you will build up yourself.”
