Amazon is buying planes as airlines downsize their fleets as the Covid-19 pandemic has exploded demand for product deliveries but drastically reduced the travel of people.
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The e-commerce giant announced on Tuesday the acquisition of eleven Boeing 767-300s from Delta and WestJet, which will be converted into cargo planes.
It is the first time that the group has acquired aircraft to build up its own fleet, instead of signing rental contracts.
“Having both leased and owned aircraft in our growing fleet allows us to better manage our operations, and therefore keep pace to deliver on promises to our customers,”
said Sarah Rhoads, vice-president. president of Amazon Global Air.
The four Westjet planes will join Amazon's fleet this year, while the seven planes purchased from Delta will be ready in 2022.
Double bites
Since the start of the pandemic, Amazon has been working hard in logistics, from warehouses to recruitments via means of transport, to cope with the surge in orders on the internet.
The travel and tourism industry has suffered greatly from the health crisis.
The plan to support the US economy, ratified at the end of December, provides for aid of $ 16 billion to save tens of thousands of jobs in airlines and their subcontractors.
And $ 2 billion must help airports.
