Amazon Buys First Planes to Expand Air Network

The beginning of this year marks the first time Amazon has purchased its own planes to expand its air network.

Amazon launched its first air operation back in 2016 and the company has been steadily building cargo air fleet over the years. However, the difference between then and now is that Amazon used to lease aircrafts and now they will actually have their own planes too.

The delivery giant is buying a total of eleven used Boeing 767-300 aircrafts, seven of which are from Delta, and four from Canada’s WestJet. They plan to have the WestJet planes start flying later this year, and the others from Delta in 2022. The new planes will be operated by third-party carriers.

“Our goal is to continue delivering for customers across the U.S. in the way that they expect from Amazon, and purchasing our own aircraft is a natural next step toward that goal,” Sarah Rhoads, vice president of Amazon Global Air, said in a press release. “Having a mix of both leased and owned aircraft in our growing fleet allows us to better manage our operations, which in turn helps us to keep pace in meeting our customer promises.”

By 2022, Amazon plans to have over 85 planes, both leased and owned, and it’s intended that the newly bought planes will help speed up the delivery of Amazon orders even more.

 It’s no secret that Amazon is one of the largest delivery and logistics firms already, and it doesn’t seem like they are going anywhere anytime soon. With its ambitious goals, Amazon is quickly adapting to the high-demand of orders, which especially rose during the pandemic, and is becoming a major player in logistics. How major? Well, it’s estimated that Amazon’s air fleet could grow to include more than 200 aircrafts in the next two years!