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Amazon mulling air freight service operation, claims reports

Amazon isn’t just looking to drones to provide faster and more efficient shipping and delivery operations.

December 22, 2015

Amazon isn’t just looking to drones to provide faster and more efficient shipping and delivery operations.

A news report this weekend reveals the online ecommerce giant is mulling development of its own air freight service and may be leasing nearly two dozen Boeing 767 jets as part of the strategy.

Shipping news site CargoFacts and the Seattle Times both report Amazon is considering building a logistical system featuring overnight air freight. The move would be an expansion of its current fleet of five jets being used for delivery needs out of a flight base in Ohio.

One prime goal, according to an industry analyst, is to boost customer experience.

"We don't think third-party carriers are providing enough capacity for Amazon. That's forcing Amazon's hand, to some extent," Colin Sebastian, Internet analyst at investment firm Robert W. Baird, told USA Today. "The more Amazon can control that delivery chain, the better they can control the experience for their customer," Sebastian said.

Another prime reason is to get more control over product delivery, according to a USA Today report. Right now Amazon is using the half dozen jets and delivering product via the postal service, UPS and FedEx. How much of that scenario would change, in terms of delivery reliance, is not clear. According to a Bloombergreport, Amazon ships about 5.2 million packages a day during the holiday timeframe with 70 percent delivered via the U.S. Postal Service, 15 percent with UPS, 10 percent via FedEx and the remainder through smaller delivery companies.