Nevertheless, the Broughton plant has been a major success story in the three decades since the first A300 series wings were produced.

BBC: Airbus warns of 1,300 job losses

The world's largest parcel carrier ordered 30 of the A300-600 planes two years ago, and has retained an option to buy 50 more.

FORBES: Focus On The Forbes 500s: UPS

On Sept. 26, an Airbus A300 belonging to Jefri was reportedly grounded in upstate New York while its credentials were checked on orders from the Brunei government.

CNN: TROUBLED KINGDOM

An Airbus A300 will ferry another 300 fans from Stanstead.

BBC: Arsenal jets beat travel chaos

Apparently, UPS was happy with the seven A300-600 freighters Airbus delivered last fall as part of a 1998 deal to provide 30 of the aircraft for use within the continental U.S. The new deal is the largest aircraft purchase in UPS's 93-year history.

FORBES: Focus On The Forbes 500s: UPS