Amazon Air: A Risk To FedEx And UPS? - Simple Flying
While incumbent cargo airlines UPS and FedEx have just about reached saturation point, Amazon Air is just starting out.
Amazon has been dabbling in the cargo market for several years, having initially operated as Amazon Prime Air from 2015. In 2017, it changed its name to Amazon Air to differentiate itself from its drone delivery service. However, even then, it continued to rely on wet-leased air cargo capacity and did not own its own aircraft.
In December 2018, Amazon Air committed to the lease of an additional 10 Boeing 767 freighters from Air Transport Services Group (ATSG), taking its total fleet to 50 airplanes. All were being operated by either ATSG or Atlas Air, as Amazon does not have an Air Operators Certificate (AOC) or any crew of its own.
While incumbent cargo airlines UPS and FedEx have just about reached saturation point, Amazon Air is just starting out.
Amazon has been dabbling in the cargo market for several years, having initially operated as Amazon Prime Air from 2015. In 2017, it changed its name to Amazon Air to differentiate itself from its drone delivery service. However, even then, it continued to rely on wet-leased air cargo capacity and did not own its own aircraft.
In December 2018, Amazon Air committed to the lease of an additional 10 Boeing 767 freighters from Air Transport Services Group (ATSG), taking its total fleet to 50 airplanes. All were being operated by either ATSG or Atlas Air, as Amazon does not have an Air Operators Certificate (AOC) or any crew of its own.
