Amazon announced on Tuesday it is buying 11 used Boeing 767-300 jets from Delta and WestJet, as it pushes for faster delivery amid a Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the four WestJet planes are being converted to cargo jets and will join the Amazon Air fleet this year, while the seven Delta planes will be added in 2022 after their conversion, the firm reported.
Moreover, the company is aiming to build up the fleet of planes dedicated to its Amazon Air cargo operations through leasing agreements but the announcement marks its first-ever outright aircraft purchase.
On other hand, the firm released its air fleet in 2016, prompting speculation that it would reduce its reliance on UPS and FedEx. The company still relies on outside carriers for a portion of its deliveries, but it has rapidly accelerated its in-house logistics operations.
In addition, Amazon Air’s 767 fleet is operated by Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings and Air Transport Services Group, but an Amazon spokeswoman declined to comment on which airlines would operate the newly purchased planes.
According to the aviation consulting firm Ascend, the Delta aircraft are about 20 years old and if between major maintenance cycles, would be valued at close to $13 million to nearly $14 million each.
Delta in June said it planned to retire seven of its Boeing 767-300ER jets by the end of 2020 and in October it announced it plans to retire the remaining 49 of its 767-300ER aircraft by the end of 2025.
Noteworthy, Amazon added nine planes to its Amazon Air fleet, the most it has added over a three-month span since its inception, according to the report by DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development on September. Amazon Air expanded rapidly during summer 2020, a period otherwise marked by sharp year-over-year declines in air-cargo traffic, the report states.
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