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Amazon Air
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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 at that time, it had planned 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]
Key Information
History
[edit]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] Operations began 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 3×106 sq ft (69-acre; 28 ha) sorting facility and parking space for over 100 cargo aircraft.[10] At the time, the project was 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 the airline 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 planned to move into office space at the former Comair headquarters by March 2018, but this did not come to fruition.[9]
Amazon leased 10 additional Boeing 767-300 planes from ATSG in December 2018.[12]
Amazon later created a new regional air hub at Fort Worth Alliance Airport (KAFW), but this hub 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 ATSG,[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. Phase two, to develop the remaining 479 acres (194 ha), was planned for the 2025–2027 period.[15] Amazon stated that it eventually plans to have over 100 aircraft based at CVG with over 200 daily flights[10] and 15,000 employees.[16]
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.[17]
In September 2020, Amazon committed to buy four aircraft under their own operations. These would be the first owned airplanes rather than leased. The four 767-300 aircraft were previously under the ownership of WestJet, who purchased them from Qantas in 2015.[18] In January 2021, with passenger air traffic severely depressed and cargo traffic higher due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon announced it had purchased 11 Boeing 767-300 aircraft 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 USD$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.[19][20]
In September 2022, a study conducted by the Chaddick Institute found that Amazon Air had a system expansion of 5.8% without having added any additional warehouses.[21] The study also showed that in the same year, the carry capacity had increased, making it 14% and 23% as large as FedEx Express and UPS Airlines, respectively.[21]
In October 2022, Amazon announced the lease of ten Airbus A330-300P2F freighters from Altavair to be operated by Hawaiian Airlines. These aircraft were planned to be converted to freighters by Elbe Flugzeugwerke, and the first of these aircraft was slated to join the fleet in late 2023.[22]
In January 2023, Amazon launched Amazon Prime Air in India in partnership with QuikJet. The service planned to use two, branded Boeing 737-800 freighters to deliver goods in four metro cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru. The company stated it had planned to increase the number of dedicated freighters in India to six by the end of 2023, and that it would also continue to utilize the cargo space of other passenger airlines.[citation needed]
Function
[edit]Amazon Air’s primary function 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 last mile 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.
Destinations
[edit]Amazon Air flies scheduled flights to the following destinations. *NOTE= Recently added Belfast International, UK is not on the table.*:[23]
| Hubs/focus cities * |
| Future destinations → |
| Terminated destinations # |
Fleet
[edit]Amazon Air transports on Boeing 737, Boeing 767 and Airbus A330 aircraft, all of which are operated by contracted partners.[4] As of January 2025, the Amazon Air fleet consists of the following aircraft.[50][51][52]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Operator | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A330-300P2F | 10 | — | Hawaiian Airlines | ||
| Boeing 737-800BCF | 31 | 8 | — | Atlas Air | |
| 9 | ASL Airlines Ireland | ||||
| 2 | QuikJet Airlines | ||||
| 12 | Sun Country Airlines | ||||
| Boeing 767-300F | 60 | 41 | — | Air Transport International | One crashed as Flight 3591. |
| 17 | Atlas Air | ||||
| 2 | Cargojet Airways | ||||
| Total | 101 | — | |||
| 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 | ||
Accidents and incidents
[edit]- On February 23, 2019, Atlas Air Flight 3591 (a Boeing 767-300BCF, operating for Amazon Air) crashed into Trinity Bay near Anahuac, Texas.[53] The crash occurred approximately 30 miles (48 km) southeast of George Bush Intercontinental Airport while the aircraft was on approach to the airport. The aircraft was operating a regularly scheduled trip from Miami International Airport to George Bush Intercontinental. All three people on board (two crew members and one passenger) were killed.[54][55][56] This was the first fatal accident involving the Boeing 767F.
- On November 19, 2024, a Cargojet Boeing 767-300F, operating for Amazon Air, overran the north runway at Vancouver International Airport and slid into the grass while landing around 1:45 am.[57] No injuries were reported, but the aircraft was substantially damaged.[58]
References
[edit]- ^ Whitehead, Brian (January 23, 2023). "Amazon Air takes off in India". About Amazon.
- ^ Etherington, Darrell (November 5, 2020). "Amazon launches its first Amazon Air regional hub in Europe". TechCrunch.
- ^ Whitehead, Brian (April 29, 2021). "Amazon begins operations at San Bernardino airport hub". The San Bernardino Sun.
- ^ a b c Hammerand, Jim (26 December 2017). "Amazon's Prime Air cargo jet fleet is bigger than ever and has a new name". Puget Sound Business Journal. ISSN 8750-7757. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- ^ a b "Amazon buys its first planes to expand air network". BBC News. January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
- ^ Kulisch, Eric (March 25, 2021). "Amazon airline ATSG touts red-hot business for cargo jet leases". FreightWaves. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
- ^ Greene, Jay; Gates, Dominic (17 December 2015). "Amazon in talks to lease Boeing jets to launch its own air-cargo business". The Seattle Times. ISSN 0745-9696. OCLC 9198923. Archived from the original on 19 December 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
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.
- ^ Kraatz, Nathan (9 March 2016). "2nd Update: ATSG, Amazon, strike deal at Wilmington Air Park". The Times-Gazette. AIM Media. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
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.
- ^ a b Engel, Liz (5 October 2017). "Amazon latest: Company will lease office space at CVG". WCPO-TV. Archived from the original on 12 December 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
Amazon will lease office space at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport while it shapes plans for its massive air cargo hub there.
- ^ a b Wetterich, Chris; Caproni, Eric (31 January 2017). "Amazon to create $1.5B air hub at CVG". Cincinnati Business Courier. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
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.
- ^ Boyle, Alan (26 December 2017). "Beyond Prime: Amazon Air gets a shorter name for Christmas, at least in the news". GeekWire. Archived from the original on 26 December 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
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.
- ^ Perez, Sarah (21 December 2018). "Amazon Air expands with 10 more cargo aircraft, bringing fleet to 50 planes". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 6 November 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
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.
- ^ Broderick, Sean (13 February 2019). "Amazon Air Seen As Little Threat To Incumbent Package Carriers". Aviation Week & Space Technology. Informa. ISSN 0005-2175. Archived from the original on 16 February 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
- ^ "ATSG Expands and Extends its Aircraft Leasing and Operating Agreements with Amazon" (Press release). Wilmington, Ohio: Air Transport Services Group. 21 December 2018. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
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.
- ^ Engel, Liz (29 November 2017). "Amazon facility on track to begin operations at CVG by 2020". Hebron, Kentucky: WCPO-TV. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
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.
- ^ McKee, Tom (3 November 2017). "Experts: Amazon Prime Air could bring up to 15K jobs over time". Hebron, Kentucky: WCPO-TV. Archived from the original on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
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 Air secures sustainable aviation fuel". Global Cargo News. July 9, 2020. Archived from the original on July 9, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
- ^ Miller, Seth (September 2, 2020). "Amazon's first 763 freighter is now registered". PaxEx.Aero. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
- ^ Palmer, Annie (March 8, 2021). "Amazon spends $131 million to take minority stake in air cargo contractor ATSG". CNBC. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
- ^ "SC 13G/A". sec.gov. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
- ^ a b Schwieterman, Joseph P.; Craig, Carrie; Mader, Abby (March 7, 2023). "Twice-a-day Flight Clusters At CVG Enhance Amazon Air's Capability As Recession Fears Loom" (PDF). DePaul University. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 11, 2024. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
- ^ "Airbus to join Amazon Air fleet with ten A330-300P2F converted freighters". Airbus. October 21, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
- ^ Swartz, Karl L. (28 December 2017). "Featured Map for 28 December 2017: Amazon Prime Air's Christmas Rush". gcmap.com. Great Circle Mapper. Archived from the original on 30 December 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
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 launches its first Amazon Air regional hub in Europe". November 5, 2020.
- ^ "Amazon Air avvia il volo Malpensa – Cagliari" [Amazon accelerates: the Malpensa – Catania flight is also underway]. aircargoitaly.com (in Italian). February 10, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
- ^ "Amazon accelera: al via anche il volo Malpensa – Catania" [Amazon Air launches Malpensa – Cagliari flight]. aircargoitaly.com (in Italian). January 28, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
- ^ "Amazon Air è atterrata anche a Roma Fiumicino" [Amazon Air landed in Rome Fiumicino]. aircargoitaly.com (in Italian). June 10, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
- ^ Specker, Lawrence (November 3, 2022). "Amazon Air lands in Mobile, adding a high-speed link for shipments". al. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- ^ Goldman, Dave (20 June 2019). "Amazon Air coming to Anchorage, speeding up package delivery". KTVA. Archived from the original on 22 June 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
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.
- ^ Naiden, Alena (March 18, 2021). "Amazon touts job opportunities as sorting facility opens". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Amazon Continues to Expand Its Transportation Fleet With Purchased Aircraft | Amazon.com, Inc. - Press Room". press.aboutamazon.com. January 5, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f Hobart, C. Dana (20 July 2017). "Why Amazon Is Taking To The Skies". Law360. Archived from the original on 2 December 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019 – via Buchalter.
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.
- ^ Hagen, Ryan (2 August 2018). "Amazon Air cleared for 5 cargo flights a day from March Air Reserve Base". The Press-Enterprise. MediaNews Group. Archived from the original on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
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.
- ^ "Amazon Air launches new hub in Southern California". April 28, 2021.
- ^ "Amazon sorting center approved for Lakeland Linder airport". WTVT. Lakeland, Florida: Fox Television Stations. 20 May 2019. Archived from the original on 2 December 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
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.
- ^ Yamanouchi, Kelly (13 September 2019). "Amazon Air launches flights to Hartsfield-Jackson". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN 1539-7459. Archived from the original on 16 September 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
Amazon Air has launched cargo service to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The daily cargo flights began this week.
- ^ Ruminski, Laura (August 7, 2020). "Amazon Air expands operations to Kona International Airport". Hawaii Tribune-Herald. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
- ^ "Amazon Air begins operating out of Des Moines airport". November 9, 2021.
- ^ "Amazon Air takes flight at Wichita airport". KWCH. January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
- ^ "Amazon Air Adds New Orleans to its Expanding Network, and Airport is 'Thriled'". AviationPros. November 5, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
- ^ "Kansas City International Airport". Retrieved May 13, 2021.
- ^ Calhoun, Michael (6 September 2019). "More cargo flights at Lambert could mean getting your package faster". KMOX-AM. Entercom. Archived from the original on 2 December 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
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.
- ^ Kelsey Stewart (February 10, 2022). "Amazon Air launches daily cargo service at Omaha's Eppley Airfield". Omaha World-Herald.
- ^ Huffenberger, Gary; Hamilton, John (12 November 2018). "UPDATED: Amazon primed to land again at Wilmington Air Park; info on applying for jobs coming soon". Wilmington News Journal. Wilmington, Ohio: AIM Media. ISSN 8750-4847. Archived from the original on 1 November 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
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.
- ^ Assad, Matt (25 April 2017). "LVIA expanding to handle more Amazon planes". The Morning Call. Tribune Publishing. Archived from the original on 26 April 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
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.
- ^ "Amazon Air Begins Daily Cargo Service at Pittsburgh International Airport". May 13, 2021.
- ^ Sreenivasan, Raoul. "Amazon Air Director SJU Tweet Announcement" (Tweet). Retrieved May 30, 2020 – via Twitter.
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!
- ^ Nesi, Ted; LoSciuto, Shiina (1 June 2018). "Amazon's distributor leaving RI for Hartford; 149 layoffs". WPRI-TV. Nexstar Media Group. Archived from the original on 1 December 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
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.
- ^ "Amazon Air Launches Cargo Service at Nashville International Airport". September 3, 2021.
- ^ "Air Transport Services Group Annual Report" (PDF). December 31, 2021. p. 31. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 11, 2024. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
- ^ "Amazon Fleet News and Discussion Thread – 2022". airliners.net. January 7, 2022. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
- ^ ‘Ufi, Elizabeth (June 16, 2025). "Hawaiian Airlines receives last Amazon-supplied cargo aircraft". Pacific Business News. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
- ^ "National Transportation Safety Board Aviation Accident Investigation: Atlas Air #3591 crashed into Trinity Bay (DCA19MA086)". ntsb.gov. National Transportation Safety Board. 12 March 2019. Archived from the original on 13 March 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
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.
- ^ Accident description for ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 767-375ER (BCF) (WL) N1217A Trinity Bay, near Anahuac, TX at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on December 1, 2019.
- ^ Kraft, Melanie (23 February 2019). "BREAKING A Prime Air Boeing 767 has crashed into Trinity Bay near Houston Bush Airport". AirLive.net. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
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.
- ^ Hughes, Trevor (24 February 2019). "Three confirmed dead after Amazon Prime Air cargo plane crash in Texas". USA Today. ISSN 0734-7456. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
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.
- ^ "Vancouver airport runway to be closed for 'a few days' after cargo plane overruns landing". CBC News. November 19, 2024. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "Runway excursion Accident Boeing 767-338ER (BDSF) (WL) C-GAZI, Tuesday 19 November 2024". asn.flightsafety.org. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
Further media
[edit]External links
[edit]
Media related to Amazon Air at Wikimedia Commons
Amazon Air
View on Grokipediafrom Grokipedia
History
Founding and Early Operations
In late 2015, Amazon announced plans to enter the air cargo sector as e-commerce sales surged and customer expectations for rapid delivery intensified, particularly for Amazon Prime's promised two-day shipping.[17] This move was motivated by the need to build internal capacity to handle growing package volumes, reduce dependency on external carriers during peak periods, and optimize the end-to-end supply chain for faster fulfillment.[18] By December 2015, the company was negotiating leases for up to 20 Boeing 767 freighters to support these operations, signaling a strategic shift toward vertical integration in logistics.[19] Amazon formalized its air cargo initiatives in early 2016 through partnerships with specialized providers. In March, it signed a deal with Air Transport Services Group (ATSG) to operate an initial network of 20 cargo aircraft, laying the groundwork for trial flights from bases like Wilmington Air Park in Ohio.[20] This was followed in May by an agreement with Atlas Air Worldwide, under which Atlas would provide aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance (ACMI) services for up to 20 Boeing 767-300 freighters over a 10-year term, with operations ramping up in the second half of the year.[3] The partnership with Atlas Air marked the beginning of branded Prime Air flights—initially called Prime Air before rebranding to Amazon Air in 2017—starting with a small initial fleet of three leased aircraft featuring the company's distinctive livery to enable dedicated cargo transport.[21][4] The official launch of the service occurred on August 4, 2016, when the company unveiled its dedicated cargo service and introduced the first branded plane, Amazon One, during Seattle's Seafair Air Show.[22] Just days later, on August 9, 2016, Amazon One completed its inaugural operational flight, departing from Wilmington Air Park in Ohio and arriving at Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to transport packages efficiently across key distribution nodes.[23] Early operations emphasized short-haul and regional routes to bridge gaps in ground logistics, particularly supplementing truck-based deliveries for Amazon Prime orders during high-demand seasons like the holidays. This focused approach allowed Amazon to scale air capacity selectively, ensuring reliable two-day delivery without overhauling its entire network at once.[24] The service's founding efforts integrated air transport into the company's broader logistics ecosystem, providing flexible overhead for time-critical shipments that ground services alone could not always accommodate.[25]Expansion Phases
Following its initial launch in 2016, the service underwent significant expansion between 2018 and 2019 to meet rising e-commerce demands. By early 2019, the fleet had grown to 40 aircraft, primarily through leases from Air Transport Services Group (ATSG), which includes Air Transport International, and Atlas Air.[26] This increase supported expanded package volumes, with the dedicated Boeing 767 freighters enabling more efficient overnight long-distance transport across the U.S. network.[27] Infrastructure development paralleled fleet growth, as Amazon invested in new facilities to streamline sorting and distribution. In May 2019, the company broke ground on a major air cargo hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), a 800,000-square-foot facility designed to serve as a central node for its growing operations.[28] This hub, part of a $1.5 billion investment, aimed to enhance connectivity between fulfillment centers and regional airports, reducing ground transport times.[29] The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the service's growth in 2020, as heightened demand for essential goods delivery strained existing logistics. Daily flights surged from 85 in late April to 108 by August, reflecting a roughly 27% operational increase to prioritize medical supplies, household items, and other critical shipments.[30] The fleet expanded further to approximately 70 aircraft by September, with nine additional Boeing 737s added during the summer to boost capacity amid global air cargo disruptions.[31][32] In January 2021, Amazon marked a strategic shift by making its first direct aircraft purchase: 11 used Boeing 767-300s acquired from Delta Air Lines (seven planes) and WestJet (four planes), scheduled for conversion and integration into the network between 2021 and 2022.[6] This move reduced reliance on long-term leases and positioned the airline for sustained scalability. By 2020, the service had become deeply integrated into the company's broader supply chain, handling a substantial portion of long-haul cargo to complement ground and last-mile delivery systems. This integration optimized inventory flow from major fulfillment centers to regional sortation hubs, enabling faster Prime delivery commitments during peak demand.Recent Developments
Following the post-pandemic period, Amazon Air has normalized operations by emphasizing sustainability measures, such as integrating sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) into its U.S. flights and optimizing routes to reduce short-haul operations, which began in earnest by 2023 to lower emissions and improve fuel efficiency.[33][16] In 2023, Amazon committed to decarbonizing its transportation network, including air cargo, through fleet efficiency gains and lower-carbon fuels, achieving a 3% reduction in absolute carbon emissions that year.[34][35] By 2024, Amazon Air's fleet expanded to 104 aircraft, surpassing 100 in capacity terms through the addition of widebody freighters like 10 Airbus A330-300s, enabling greater third-party cargo handling and a 14% increase in U.S. tonnage capacity from March 2024 to 2025.[5][36] This growth supported international testing, with new interline agreements in Asia—such as with Air Premia in July 2025 for U.S.-Asia transshipment via Honolulu—and expansions into EMEA and Latin America, including a charter deal with Avianca Cargo for daily operations to Colombia starting in June 2025.[37][38][39] Partnership dynamics shifted notably in 2025, with Sun Country Airlines completing its expansion to a dedicated fleet of 20 Boeing 737-800 freighters for Amazon by October 2025, under an amended contract extending through 2030 to handle peak-season demand.[40] In April 2025, Atlas Air announced the full termination of its Amazon partnership by mid-2025, ending crew, maintenance, and insurance services for 25 aircraft to reallocate resources toward international widebody operations.[41] Amazon subsequently deepened ties with other operators, including a four-year extension of its agreement with Cargojet in July 2025 for Canadian fulfillment services, renewable through 2031.[42] A DePaul University analysis in April 2025 highlighted operational efficiencies, noting a 14% tonnage capacity increase and over one-third rise in nocturnal flights for Amazon Air partners, alongside a rebound in hub activity that contributed to heightened chargeable hours amid Q3 2025 demand surges.[43]Operations
Role in Logistics
Amazon Air serves as a dedicated air cargo carrier within Amazon's logistics ecosystem, primarily transporting time-sensitive Prime shipments, including oversized and urgent packages that require rapid transit beyond the capabilities of ground transportation.[44][45] This focus enables the movement of high-value inventory and perishable goods across vast distances, ensuring compliance with Amazon's stringent delivery timelines for Prime members.[46] The service integrates seamlessly with Amazon's fulfillment centers and sortation facilities, utilizing air transport for long-haul segments to alleviate congestion on ground routes and accelerate the flow of goods between regional hubs.[47] By bridging distant fulfillment centers—often spanning thousands of miles—Amazon Air facilitates the efficient redistribution of inventory, allowing packages to transition quickly to local ground delivery networks for final-mile execution.[48] This multimodal approach reduces overall transit times and enhances supply chain resilience, particularly during peak demand periods.[49] Amazon Air plays a critical role in achieving same-day and next-day delivery commitments, supporting the transportation of packages integral to Amazon's annual volume of over 6 billion U.S. orders as of 2024, with air cargo handling a significant portion of middle-mile movements for expedited services.[50] Major hubs process hundreds of thousands of packages daily across multiple flights, contributing to the scalability of Amazon's e-commerce operations.[1] Leveraging advanced data analytics and AI-driven tools, Amazon Air optimizes routes by forecasting demand, predicting disruptions, and prioritizing high-volume domestic corridors such as those connecting East Coast and West Coast hubs.[51] These technologies enable dynamic planning that minimizes delays and maximizes aircraft utilization, ensuring efficient allocation of cargo space across the network.[52] Unlike passenger airlines, Amazon Air operates exclusively as an all-cargo provider with a focus on freight-only configurations, supporting near-continuous operations through over 250 daily flights on more than 100 aircraft to maintain uninterrupted supply chain momentum.[7][2] This specialized model allows for flexible scheduling tailored to logistics needs, free from the constraints of passenger itineraries.[16]Network and Destinations
Amazon Air's network is predominantly centered in the United States, serving as a critical component in the company's logistics ecosystem by facilitating the swift movement of packages to fulfillment centers and delivery stations nationwide. The carrier operates an extensive domestic route structure connecting over 45 cities across the country, enabling efficient distribution to a broad geographic footprint that encompasses the majority of the U.S. population. This U.S.-centric focus allows Amazon Air to handle a significant portion of its air cargo operations, with flights optimized for overnight delivery to support same-day and next-day customer fulfillment. Recent U.S. expansions include a new late-night cargo flight to Oahu, Hawaii, launched in October 2025, enabling next-day delivery on the island.[37][53] Key hubs anchor this network, including Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), which functions as the primary sorting and processing facility for packages traversing the continental U.S. Other vital nodes include Wilmington Air Park (ILN) in Ohio, which supports regional freight movements with scheduled departure banks, often in the early morning hours to align with ground transportation timelines. Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) in Pennsylvania serves as a strategic secondary airport on the East Coast, chosen for its proximity to major population centers while avoiding congestion at larger facilities like Philadelphia International, thereby reducing turnaround times and operational delays. These hubs collectively manage inbound and outbound cargo flows, with more than 80% of domestic flights operating to or from the largest five such locations.[29][54][10] Major routes emphasize long-haul connectivity, such as cross-country links from central hubs like ILN to West Coast destinations including Los Angeles (LAX), which transport substantial volumes of e-commerce goods to support regional distribution in high-demand areas. The network's design prioritizes reliability and capacity, with flights concentrated on key corridors that link sorting facilities to population-dense regions, ensuring packages reach over 40 states through interconnected ground and air segments. To accommodate fluctuating demand, Amazon Air incorporates seasonal adjustments, ramping up flight frequencies and capacity during holiday peaks—such as the period from mid-November to mid-January—to manage surges in package volumes that can increase by up to 5% year-over-year.[55] While the core operations remain U.S.-focused, Amazon Air has pursued limited international expansions since 2022 to test global reach, including routes to Canada through dedicated services connecting major fulfillment centers. In Europe, the carrier operates flights primarily in northern Europe, with a growing emphasis on longer-haul segments exceeding 1,000 miles, which rose to over 35% of operations by 2025 to support third-party cargo alongside Amazon's own shipments.[56][16] Emerging international elements also include connections to the Caribbean, such as the Miami-to-Santo Domingo route launched in 2025 with seven weekly flights, marking an initial foray into Latin American markets to enhance transshipment options. These developments reflect a gradual broadening of the network beyond domestic boundaries, though international flights constitute a smaller proportion compared to U.S. routes.[57]Partnerships with Airlines
Amazon Air operates as a virtual cargo airline, relying on wet-leasing arrangements—commonly known as ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance) or CMI contracts—with third-party operators rather than maintaining its own in-house airline fleet or certification.[58] This model allows Amazon to secure dedicated air cargo capacity without the operational complexities of direct aircraft ownership or piloting.[59] Key partners have included Atlas Air, which served as an initial provider since 2016 under a long-term CMI agreement for up to 20 Boeing freighters, though this partnership fully concluded in mid-2025.[3][41] Air Transport International (ATI), a subsidiary of Air Transport Services Group (ATSG), has operated a significant portion of the network, including up to 41 Boeing 767 freighters as of late 2024 under ongoing CMI agreements.[60] Sun Country Airlines expanded its role in 2025, deploying a full fleet of 20 Boeing 737 freighters dedicated to Amazon by September, following a revised agreement signed in 2024.[61][62] For international operations, particularly in Canada, CargoJet Airways has provided services with two aircraft under an extended Air Transportation Services Agreement running through 2029, with options to 2031.[60][42] These contracts typically grant Amazon dedicated block space or full aircraft utilization, with partner airlines responsible for crewing, maintenance, insurance, and regulatory compliance, while Amazon applies its branding—such as the distinctive blue and orange Amazon Air livery—to the aircraft.[4][63] In 2025, Amazon Air shifted its partnerships to diversify away from Atlas Air following the partnership's end, increasing reliance on Sun Country Airlines and others like ATI for approximately 40-50% more chargeable flight hours in the third quarter compared to the prior year.[64][43] This partnership model provides Amazon with operational flexibility to scale capacity rapidly in response to e-commerce demand fluctuations, while avoiding the direct regulatory burdens of FAA Part 121 certification as an air carrier, which are handled by the certified partner airlines.[63][59]Fleet
Composition and Types
As of November 2025, Amazon Air operates a fleet of 98 aircraft with an average age of 26.4 years.[65] These aircraft are all-cargo conversions from former passenger models, featuring the Amazon Prime Air branding on their exteriors for visibility in the company's logistics network.[60] The fleet composition emphasizes reliability and capacity for e-commerce cargo, consisting of widebody and narrowbody freighters suited to varying haul lengths. The Boeing 767-300F forms the backbone of the fleet, with 59 units in service as the primary type for long-haul operations. This twin-engine freighter, a converted passenger variant, offers a payload capacity of approximately 50 tons per flight, enabling efficient transport of bulk volumes over extended distances. Its design includes a large main deck cargo door and underfloor holds, supporting up to 30 LD-2 containers or equivalent pallets.[5] Complementing the widebodies, the Boeing 737-800F accounts for 29 units dedicated to medium-haul routes. These single-aisle freighters, also Boeing Converted Freighters (BCF), provide a payload of around 23 tons and were rapidly incorporated into the fleet from 2020 to 2023 to meet surging demand during the e-commerce boom, with further expansions in 2025. With a range exceeding 4,000 kilometers when fully loaded, they facilitate frequent, shorter regional flights while maintaining low operating costs. The fleet includes Airbus A330-300F with 10 units for versatile widebody operations, including additions of 10 aircraft in early 2025 to boost capacity. The current mix reflects strategic acquisitions of converted aircraft over time to balance capacity and operational flexibility.[16]| Aircraft Type | Quantity | Primary Role | Payload Capacity (tons) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 767-300F | 59 | Long-haul | ~50 |
| Boeing 737-800F | 29 | Medium-haul | ~23 |
| Airbus A330-300F | 10 | Versatile widebody | ~65 |