Amazon Air

History

2021: The beginning of purchases of airplanes instead of their lease

On January 5, 2021 announced Amazon the first purchase of the airplanes intended for delivery of orders. Before the online retailer used cargo airliners as leasing.

According to the statement Amazon, the company purchased 11 Boeing 767-300 airplanes at Delta Air Lines and WestJet Airlines. The cost of transactions does not reveal.

Amazon for the first time buys airplanes for the goods delivery

Four airplanes purchased at WestJet undergo re-equipment from passenger on cargo and will join the park in 2021, and seven airplanes from Delta will be included into network of freight air transportation Amazon in the 2022nd. At this Amazon will still rely on third-party carriers for operation of new airplanes.

By words the vice president of Amazon Global Air of Sara Rouds, purchase of aircrafts became a natural step for the company in the current conditions.

Existence in our growing plane fleet both leased, and owned allows us to manage better transactions that, in turn, helps us to keep up to date, keeping the promises made to our clients — she said.

By the beginning of January, 2021 of Amazon performs flights of the Amazon Air liners from 20 different airports that does possible the two-day goods delivery practically in any point of the USA.

Recently purchased airplanes are designed to help to accelerate the goods delivery, purchased through Amazon.com online store, demand for which as a result of a pandemic of a coronavirus of COVID-19 was record. The company states that it will continue to rely on third-party carriers for operation of these new airplanes. It is expected that by 2022 in the park of Amazon there will be 85 airplanes, including the rented and purchased liners. In June of the 2020th Amazon rented at Air Transport Services Group two of the converted cargo aircrafts Boeing 767-300.^[1]

2020: Start of the Europe's first aviaplatform for delivery of orders

At the beginning of November, 2020 it became known of opening of the European hub of Amazon Air at the Leipzig/Halle airport (Germany). The area of a new object is 20,000 square meters, two Boeing 737-800 airplanes under a brand of Amazon therefore the general park of aircrafts of the company will make more than 70 airplanes will be placed there.

The giant of retail states that the new center will create more than 200 jobs at the local level near Leipzig where more than 1500 people thanks to existence of the large regional center of accomplishment of orders are already busy. Amazon notes that it will help the company to offer further the timely goods delivery in Europe against the background of the proceeding COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Amazon invests $1.5 billion in own airport for cargo aircrafts

Amazon continues to increase the volume of the operations on logistics of freight air transportation from the moment of expansion of the network of delivery in 2016. Amazon has regional air nodes at the airports of Texas, Puerto Rico and Florida in the USA. The company intends to expand the activity to the international airport of San Bernardino (State of California) and the international airport of Cincinnati (State of Kentucky) in 2021.

In June, 2020 the company added ten new airplanes to the fleet that helped to meet additional demand against the background of COVID-19. Adding of the European hub indicates that Amazon still pays priority attention to development of this sphere of the activity. It makes sense as demand for services of Amazon, according to the forecast, will sharply increase against the background of the second wave of incidence of COVID-19 in Europe and other countries of the world.

In addition to the goods delivery during Amazon Air pandemic also helped to deliver to clients fixed assets of individual protection for partners of Amazon in the whole Europe, including 29 million masks, 100,000 thermometers and 3 million gloves.^[2]

2019: Amazon invests $1.5 billion in own airport for cargo aircrafts

In the middle of May, 2019 announced Amazon construction of the airport for the purpose of acceleration of the goods delivery. This project the Internet company will be able to compete with traditional logistic giants.

The area of the air harbor in Cincinnati which is going to start in 2021  will be about 280 thousand square meters. The earth under construction was rented by Amazon for 50 years.

Project of an aero mouth of Amazon

At the personal airport of the company about 2 thousand workers will be created. Investments into the project are estimated at $1.5 billion, the CEO of Amazon Jeff Bezos at  the ceremony devoted to the beginning of construction of the airport said.

According to Bezos, the airport will allow to reduce delivery date of goods for subscribers of Amazon Prime from two days to one. By May, 2019 cargo airline Amazon — Amazon Air — uses as a hub the international airport of Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky.

According to the edition  TechCrunch, Amazon company decided to construct own airport to press such logistic giants as FedEx and UPS. By May, 2019 Amazon has several tens of airplanes making several hundred runs to week. At UPS and Fedex hundreds of airplanes daily perform thousands of flights. It is expected that to the Amazon airport about 100 cargo airliners will be based.

According to analysts, acceleration of the goods delivery for clients of Amazon  is only a small part of the opening opportunities. Volume on  the goods delivery for business is estimated at  $400 billion, and  Amazon can quite become one of  the largest players on  it, the expert of Baird Equity Research Colin Sebastian considers.

By estimates of analysts of Morgan Stanley, Amazon it is more profitable to fly in sendings independently. So the company saves from $2 to $4 on each sending.^[3]

Notes