Amazon bought 11 passenger planes from Delta and WestJet that will be converted into cargo jets, according to a press release from the Seattle-based online retailer. It’s the first time Amazon bought planes instead of just renting them and it comes at a time when the airline industry is struggling with a slowdown in demand during the covid-19 pandemic.
The 11 planes are Boeing 767-300 aircraft, seven from Delta and four from WestJet. WestJet’s planes are already being converted into cargo aircraft and will join the Amazon Air fleet this year, while Delta planes will be part of Amazon’s network in 2022.
Launched in 2016, Amazon Air recently centers established in Germany and the United States, along with other countries, as it seeks to rely less on companies like FedEx and UPS to ship goods around the world. Although Amazon Air now owns eleven aircraft, the company still relies on third-party carriers to operate its planes.
Amazon did not disclose how much it paid for the planes, but airlines have struggled to unload their older aircraft as the demand for passenger flights continues to suffer worldwide. The covid-19 pandemic has forced many airlines to make difficult choices, and although vaccines are being launched, there is no guarantee consumer demand will recover immediately in 2021.
The US still has a surprisingly high coronavirus case numbers, with more than 21 million covid-19 cases identified since the start of the pandemic and more than 357,000 American deaths. Approximately tracked TSA 1.3 million passengers on Sunday, January 3, the end of the holiday weekend, the highest number since the beginning of the pandemic, although still about half of the passengers screened on the same day in 2020.
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TThe loss of the civil aviation industry was Amazon’s gain over and over again during the pandemic. Americans are staying more at home and companies that provide online shopping reaped the benefits.
“Our goal is to continue serving customers across the United States the way they expect from Amazon, and buying our own aircraft is a natural next step toward that goal,” said Sarah Rhoads, vice president, Amazon Global Air, in a statement published connected.
“Having a combination of owned and leased aircraft in our growing fleet allows us to better manage our operations, which in turn helps us to keep pace with delivering on promises to customers.”