In 2016, Amazon’s air cargo fleet (then known as Prime Air) consisted of 11 jets. In late 2022, the company said Bloomberg it expects to have more than 85 planes transporting products in the United States and other countries, thanks to its recent acquisition of 11 Boeing 767-300 planes. More than the number of aircraft involved, Amazon’s latest announcement is notable because it marks the first time the company has purchased, rather than rented, additional aircraft for its Amazon Air cargo operation.
Amazon is buying seven used aircraft from Delta and four from Canadian WestJet. After being retired to transport cargo, the last four will start flying for the company later this year. In the meantime, Delta jets will join Amazon Air in 2022. As with all of its existing planes, Amazon says that these new planes will be operated by contractors.