Amazon buying planes for first time as it aims for fleet of 85

The WestJet aircraft are currently being converted from passenger to cargo use and will join Amazon’s fleet this year. 

Amazon is buying 11 used Boeing 767-300 planes, the first time the online retail giant has purchased, rather than leased, aircraft for its fast-growing air cargo operation.

The company said it was buying seven aircraft from Delta Air Lines and four from WestJet Airlines. The WestJet aircraft are currently being converted from passenger to cargo use and will join Amazon’s fleet this year. 

The Delta jets will start flying routes in 2022. By the end of next year, Amazon expects to have more than 85 planes in service, a spokesperson said.

Seattle-based Amazon has rapidly expanded its air cargo operations in recent years, part of an effort to speed up delivery of packages to customers and supplement capacity from such carriers as UPS. 

Wheels up! 🛫

Today, Amazon Air announced its purchase of 11 aircraft that will take to the skies in 2021 and 2022. These new additions to our growing fleet will help us continue to delight customers for years to come. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/TAu6eoIaD1

— Amazon News (@amazonnews) January 5, 2021

As Amazon has built up its own delivery operation, which includes tens of thousands of cargo vans, the company has gone out of its way to highlight its continued reliance on other cargo companies. 

But Amazon already handles most of its own deliveries and has emerged as a competitor to partners that only a few years ago delivered almost all of the company’s goods. 

FedEx in 2019 said it wouldn’t renew its air-delivery contract with Amazon. A report last year estimated Amazon’s fleet would likely grow to 200 aircraft. 

Bloomberg