Founded | 2015 |
---|---|
Hubs | |
Focus cities | |
Fleet size | 95 |
Parent company | Amazon |
Key people | Raoul Sreenivasan |
Website | amazon |
Amazon Air (often branded as Prime Air) is a virtual cargo airline operating exclusively to transport Amazon packages. In 2017, it changed its name from Amazon Prime Air to Amazon Air to differentiate themselves from their Amazon Prime Air autonomous drone delivery service. However, the Prime Air logo remains on the aircraft. [4] Until January 2021, the airline had relied on wet-leasing its aircraft from other operators, but going forward it is looking to directly own some aircraft. [5] On the planes the airline owns, the airline will still rely on others for CMI (crew, maintenance, and insurance) leases. [6]
In late 2015, Amazon began trial cargo runs out of Wilmington Air Park under the code name Project Aerosmith. In December 2015, Amazon announced that it would begin its own cargo airline to expand its capability. [7]
In March 2016, Amazon acquired options to buy up to 19.9 percent of Air Transport Services Group's (ATSG) stock and began scheduled operations with 20 Boeing 767 aircraft. [8]
On January 31, 2017, Amazon announced that Amazon Air would make Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (KCVG) its principal hub, [9] and began operations on April 30, 2017. Amazon received $40 million in tax incentives and plans to begin construction on a 920-acre (370 ha) facility with a 3×10 6 sq ft (69-acre; 28 ha) sorting facility and parking space for over 100 cargo aircraft; [10] the project is estimated to cost $1.5 billion. [4]
In December 2017 the company, which was named Amazon Prime Air, announced its rebranding as Amazon Air to avoid confusion with the Amazon Prime Air drone delivery service, although it continues to operate under the callsign "Prime Air". [11]
As of June 2018, Amazon Air had 20 of its 33 cargo planes based at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (KCVG), with the rest flying point-to-point transit routes across the United States. Amazon Air was to move into office space at the former Comair headquarters by March 2018. [9]
Amazon leased 10 additional Boeing 767-300 planes from ATSG in December 2018. [12]
Amazon has completed a new regional air hub at Fort Worth Alliance Airport (KAFW) and does not airlift third-party packages. [13] The new regional hub began operating on October 2, 2019.
For 2019 and 2020, Amazon committed to leasing 10 additional 767-300 aircraft from Air Transport Services Group, [14] which would bring active aircraft to a total of 50. Phase one of the CVG sort facility, encompassing 440 acres (180 ha) was completed in 2020, while the remaining 479 acres (194 ha) will be developed by 2025–2027 during phase two. [15] Amazon eventually plans to have over 100 aircraft based at CVG with over 200 daily flights [10] and 15,000 employees. [16]
In March 2020, Amazon Air reserved the ICAO airline designator "MZN" and "AMAZON" call sign. [17] Both designations were cancelled in March 2021. [18]
In July 2020, Amazon Air had secured up to six million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supplied by Shell Aviation and produced by World Energy. [19]
In September 2020, Amazon committed to buy four aircraft under their own operations. These are the first aircraft the company will own rather than lease. The four 767-300 aircraft were previously under the ownership of WestJet, who purchased them from Qantas in 2015. [20] In January 2021, with passenger air traffic severely depressed and cargo traffic higher due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon announced it had completed the purchase of 11 Boeing 767-300s from Delta Air Lines and WestJet. [5]
In March 2021, Amazon exercised its warrants to acquire a minority stake in Air Transport Services Group, the parent company of Amazon Air sub-lessor Air Transport International. The deal was valued at $131 million for 13.5 million shares in the company. Amazon also holds warrants to acquire a minority stake in Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, the parent company of Atlas Air. [21] [22]
In September 2022, a study conducted by the Chaddick Institute found that Amazon Air had a system expansion of 5.8% without adding more warehouses. [23] The study also showed that in the same year, the carry capacity had increased, making it 14% and 23% as large as FedEx and UPS, respectively. [23]
In October 2022, Amazon announced the lease of ten Airbus A330-300P2F freighters from Altavair, and would be operated by Hawaiian Airlines. These aircraft are being converted to freighters by Elbe Flugzeugwerke, and the first of these aircraft is expected to join the fleet in late 2023. [24]
In January 2023, Amazon launched Amazon Prime Air in India in partnership with QuikJet. The service will use two branded Boeing 737-800 freighters to deliver goods in four metro cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru. The company plans to increase the number of dedicated freighters in India to six by the end of 2023, and will also continue to utilize the cargo space of other passenger airlines.[ citation needed ]
The primary function of Amazon Air is to transport Amazon packages from distant fulfillment centers that are outside of Amazon's local ground linehaul network for a specific area. Once the buyer's order is flown from the distant fulfillment center to the buyer's region, the package may be transported to the regional Amazon Sortation Center to be routed either to a local Amazon Logistics Delivery Station for last mile delivery or to a local post office for delivery by the United States Postal Service. Some Amazon Air packages bypass the regional Amazon Sortation Centers completely and are routed directly to local Amazon Delivery Stations for last mile delivery by Amazon Logistics.
Amazon Air flies scheduled flights to the following destinations: [25]
Hubs/focus cities * |
Future destinations → |
Terminated destinations # |
Amazon Air uses Boeing 737, Boeing 767 and Airbus A330 aircraft, all of which are operated by contracted partners. [4] As of February 2024, the Amazon Air fleet consists of the following aircraft. [52] [53]
Aircraft | In service | Orders | Operator | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Airbus A330-300P2F | 5 | 5 | Hawaiian Airlines | Deliveries began late 2023. [54] | |
Boeing 737-800BCF | 30 | 8 | — | Atlas Air | |
9 | ASL Airlines Ireland | ||||
1 | QuikJet Airlines | ||||
12 | Sun Country Airlines | ||||
Boeing 767-300F | 60 | 41 | — | Air Transport International | One Atlas Air 767-300F crashed as Flight 3591. |
17 | Atlas Air | ||||
2 | Cargojet Airways | ||||
Total | 95 | 5 |
Aircraft | In service | Operator | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
ATR 72-500F | 5 | Silver Airways | Retired on July 8, 2023, after Amazon ended all connections with the operator.[ citation needed ] |
Total | 5 |
Polar Air Cargo Worldwide Inc. is a cargo airline based in Purchase, New York, United States. It operates scheduled all-cargo services to North America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Its main base is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, with hubs at Los Angeles International Airport, Hong Kong International Airport, Narita International Airport and Incheon International Airport near Seoul, South Korea. Polar's parent company is Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings and DHL has a 49% equity interest in the airline.
Atlas Air, Inc. is a major American cargo airline, passenger charter airline, and aircraft lessor based in White Plains, New York. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings. Atlas Air is the world's largest operator of the Boeing 747, with 54 of the type. In 2021, the airline had 4,056 employees and operated to more than 300 global destinations.
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is a public international airport located in Boone County, Kentucky, United States, around the community of Hebron. The airport serves the Cincinnati tri-state area. The airport's code, CVG, is derived from the nearest city at the time of the airport's opening, Covington, Kentucky. The airport covers an area of 7,000 acres. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2023–2027, in which it is categorized as a medium-hub primary commercial service facility.
Bradley Air Services Limited, operating as First Air, was an airline headquartered in Kanata, a suburb of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It operated services to 34 communities in Nunavut, Nunavik, and the Northwest Territories. First Air has assisted in various humanitarian missions such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, airlifting relief supplies and equipment. Its main base, which included a large hangar, cargo and maintenance facility, was located at Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport, with hubs at Iqaluit Airport, and Yellowknife Airport. On November 1, 2019, the airline consolidated operations with Canadian North.
Omni Air International, LLC. is a United States charter airline headquartered in Hangar 19 on the grounds of Tulsa International Airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. It specializes in passenger charter flights and Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance (ACMI) wet leasing. Omni Air International is a member of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet as a long-range international carrier. Omni Air International is a FAA Part 121 certificated airline with IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) registration.
ABX Air, Inc., formerly Airborne Express, is a cargo airline headquartered at Wilmington Air Park near the City of Wilmington, Ohio, US. ABX Air operates scheduled, ad hoc charter and ACMI freight services. It also provides flight support services and training. ABX Air is owned by Air Transport Services Group.
Lufthansa Cargo AG is a German cargo airline and a wholly owned subsidiary of Lufthansa. It operates worldwide air freight and logistics services and is headquartered at Frankfurt Airport, the main hub of Lufthansa. Besides operating dedicated cargo planes, the company also has access to cargo capacities of 350 passenger aircraft of the Lufthansa Group.
Pacific East Asia Cargo Airlines, Inc. was a cargo airline based in Pasay, Philippines. The carrier served domestic services from the Philippines with two Boeing 727 freighter aircraft. The airline also had an agreement on selected routes flown by Air Philippines. PEAC was also an affiliate airline of TNT Airways, with PEAC operating TNT leased BAe 146 aircraft.
Tasman Cargo Airlines Pty. Limited is an Australian cargo airline with the head office in Sydney, Australia. It operates scheduled international cargo services on behalf of DHL and ad hoc domestic and international cargo charters. Its corporate headquarters are at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport in the Sydney suburb of Mascot. The fleet of aircraft are Boeing 767 based at different airports in Australia and New Zealand.
ASL Airlines Belgium, (ASLB) formerly TNT Airways, is a Belgian cargo airline operating chartered flights mainly to European destinations. It has its head office and hub on the grounds of Liège Airport. The airline was originally a subsidiary of TNT Express but was acquired by ASL Aviation Holdings DAC and rebranded in 2016. ASL Aviation Holdings DAC, the parent company of ASL Airlines Belgium, is headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland.
FedEx Express is a major American cargo airline based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. As of 2023, it is the world's largest cargo airline in terms of fleet size and freight tons flown. It is the namesake and leading subsidiary of FedEx Corporation, delivering freight and packages to more than 375 destinations over 220 countries across six continents each day. FedEx Express is also the world's largest express transportation company.
SmartLynx Airlines Limited, previously LatCharter, is a Latvia-based ACMI, charter and cargo airline based in Mārupe, operating flights on wet lease out (ACMI), holiday charter flights, ad-hoc passenger charter and cargo flights across Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada and the United States.
Air Transport International, Inc. is an airline based in Wilmington, Ohio, United States. It operates worldwide cargo charters and combi charters for the express package industry and freight forwarders, as well as for the United States Department of Defense. It also wet-leases aircraft. Its main base is Wilmington. It is part of the Air Transport Services Group.
DHL International Aviation ME, legally incorporated as DHL Aviation EEMEA B.S.C. (C) and sometimes branded as SNAS/DHL) is a cargo airline based in Bahrain. It employs 265 workers to dispatch, fly and maintain a fleet of Boeing 767 freighters operating under a Bahraini AOC. DHL International is the central platform for DHL Air Network Operations in the Middle East. It is wholly owned by Deutsche Post and operates the group's DHL-branded parcel and express services in the Middle East and North Africa as part of DHL Aviation. Its main base is Bahrain International Airport.
UPS Airlines is a major American cargo airline based in Louisville, Kentucky, US. One of the largest cargo airlines worldwide in terms of freight volume flown, UPS Airlines flies to 815 destinations worldwide. It has been a wholly owned subsidiary of United Parcel Service since its launch in 1988.
Wilmington Air Park is a public-use airport located two nautical miles (3.7 km) southeast of the central business district of Wilmington, a city in Clinton County, Ohio, United States. While DHL had privately owned the property while operating from the facility, the company agreed to donate the airfield to the Clinton County Port Authority.
DHL Aviation is a division of DHL responsible for providing air transport capacity.
Air Transport Services Group Inc. (ATSG) is an American aviation holding company which provides air cargo transportation and related services to domestic and foreign air carriers and other companies that outsource their air cargo lift requirements. ATSG, is the world's largest lessor of converted Boeing 767 freighter aircraft through its leasing division, Cargo Aircraft Management. Through its principal subsidiaries, including three airlines with separate and distinct U.S. FAA Part 121 Air Carrier certificates, ATSG provides aircraft leasing, air cargo lift, passenger ACMI and charter services, aircraft maintenance services and airport ground services. ATSG's subsidiaries include Cargo Aircraft Management; ABX Air; Air Transport International; Omni Air International, Airborne Global Solutions; Airborne Maintenance & Engineering Services, including its subsidiary, Pemco Conversions dba Pemco World Air Services; and LGSTX Services.
Eastern Airlines, LLC is an American airline founded in 2010. It began as Dynamic Airways and later added "International" to its name to reflect its transition from a charter airline into scheduled international services. Under the Dynamic name, the airline was headquartered in High Point, North Carolina, offering service from New York to South America. It used to operate from Fort Lauderdale, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York to the Caribbean, Cancún, and South America.
The Challenge Group is an international air cargo group. It employs 850 staff members across several countries and has a fleet of eight Boeing 747 and 767 aircraft.
Amazon.com is negotiating to lease 20 Boeing 767 jets for its own air-delivery service, cargo-industry executives have told The Seattle Times. The online retail giant wants to build out its own cargo operations to avoid delays from carriers such as United Parcel Service, which have struggled to keep up with the rapid growth of e-commerce.
In conjunction with the commercial agreements, ATSG also has agreed to grant Amazon warrants to acquire, over a five-year period, up to 19.9 percent of ATSG's common shares at $9.73 per share, based on the closing price of ATSG common shares on Feb. 9, 2016.
Amazon will lease office space at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport while it shapes plans for its massive air cargo hub there.
In a massive economic win for Northern Kentucky and Gov. Matt Bevin, Amazon.com.com Inc. will build a $1.49 billion worldwide air services hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, airport officials said Tuesday. The Amazon Prime Air hub at CVG will be the company's largest in the world and add to the 10,000 employees the company already has in Kentucky.
Even though "Prime" isn't included in Amazon's latest references to its cargo air fleet, it looks as the company is sticking to its custom of using prime numbers as the tail numbers for its planes. So it's a good thing there's an unlimited supply of primes.
Days after FedEx CEO Frederick Smith dismissed the Amazon threat to its business during the company's earnings call, Amazon announced an expansion of its two-year-old Amazon Air operation, which will now add to its fleet 10 767-300 dedicated Amazon cargo aircraft. The planes are being leased from existing partner Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (ATSG), which Amazon had previously tapped back in 2016 for 20 Boeing 767 freighter aircraft.
Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATSG), the leading provider of medium wide-body cargo aircraft leasing, air cargo transportation and related services, today announced agreements to lease and operate ten additional Boeing 767s for Amazon.com Services, Inc., to extend leases for twenty 767 aircraft ATSG currently provides to Amazon, and to extend the operating agreement through which ATSG's airlines operate those aircraft in the Amazon Air network.
Amazon has an update on its massive air cargo facility at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, and it appears the online shipping behemoth could be operational -- or at least partially up and running here -- by 2020.
In addition to the Prime Air hub, an unnamed developer announced at a June Sanitation District meeting it wants to reserve sewage capacity for a 2.2 million square foot sortation building with 15,000 employees.
Amazon Prime Air is a planned system to deliver packages to customers using unmanned aerial vehicls (UAVs) or drones, but currently it uses a fleet of 21 Boeing 767-300ER freighters to carry packages between distribution centers. These 767s, converted from former passenger aircraft, are owned by Amazon but operated by Air Transport International (ATI; eight aircraft) and Atlas Air (13 aircraft).
Amazon Air is joining other cargo carriers at Ted Stevens International Airport. The move could mean faster delivery for Amazon Prime customers. The announcement was made Thursday on the airport's Facebook page. According to the Facebook post, the company will begin flight operations on June 27.
With CVG as the hub, Amazon Prime Air flights are operating from Ontario, California; San Antonio; Seattle; Tampa; and Charlotte among other spokes in the wheel. Few companies besides Amazon even boast the resources to go from zero aircraft to a major player in air cargo this quickly.
Five Amazon flights per day will be allowed at March Air Reserve Base, despite residents' fears that they'll again be subject to loud flights like those that disrupted sleep for three years. Airport officials voted Wednesday, Aug. 1, to OK the flights after consultants said the impact will be significantly smaller than the DHL flights that rattled residents from 2005 to 2008.
LAKELAND, Fla. (FOX 13) – Lakeland city commissioners gave their blessing to a project that is expected to bring considerable money and jobs to the city. They voted unanimously Monday to OK an Amazon sorting center at Lakeland Linder International Airport.
Amazon Air has launched cargo service to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The daily cargo flights began this week.
ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – More cargo flights will start landing at Lambert Airport soon, but will those planes deliver your online shopping order any faster? Airport commissioners this week approved contracts with two cargo airlines; each would operate daily flights using Boeing 767 aircraft. The city still must give final approval. ABX would begin service this month, while Air Transit International would commence in October.
WILMINGTON — Amazon is again preparing to land in Wilmington. The global e-commerce giant, which utilized the Wilmington Air Park beginning in 2016 in a pilot project — but announced the next year it would leave Clinton County for the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport — announced Monday it is making a big return to Wilmington to "open a new air gateway" at the air park.
The Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority on Tuesday agreed to begin what could be a more than $4 million project to build an additional cargo plane ramp at the airport before Amazon's Christmas rush hits in November.
We are excited to begin gateway operations today for @Amazon Air in San Juan, Puerto Rico, via @SunCountryAir . Welcome to the Amazon Air family, SJU!
NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (WPRI) – A company that helps Amazon.com handle distribution in Rhode Island abruptly informed employees Friday it will shut down next month, Eyewitness News has learned. The Texas-based company, Pinnacle Logistics, will lay off 149 workers, according to a letter sent to the R.I. Department of Labor and Training by Mark Elsea, the company's chief operating officer. Pinnacle has had a busy warehouse operation at the Quonset Business Park and T.F. Green Airport.
On February 23, 2019, at 1239 central standard time, Atlas Air flight 3591, a Boeing 767-375BCF, N1217A, entered a rapid descent from 6,000 ft and impacted a marshy bay area about 40 miles southeast of George Bush Intercontinental Airport (KIAH), Houston, Texas. The two pilots and one nonrevenue jumpseat pilot were fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed and highly fragmented. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 domestic cargo flight, which originated from Miami International Airport (KMIA), Miami, Florida, and was destined for KIAH.
A Boeing 767 has crashed into Trinity Bay shortly before 12:45 p.m. The Federal Aviation Administration issued an alert on Atlas Air Fight #5Y3591 after losing radar and radio contact with the plane approximately 30 miles southeast of Bush Intercontinental Airport.
The three people aboard the Amazon Prime Air cargo plane that crashed outside Houston have been confirmed dead, the plane's operator said Sunday. The Boeing 767 operated by Atlas Air was a scheduled cargo flight for Amazon from Miami to Houston on Saturday when it nosedived into a swampy area about 30 miles from George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Media related to Amazon Air at Wikimedia Commons