Amazon has partnered with GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) to lease an additional fifteen Boeing 737-800 aircraft that will enter the air network by 2021. This will be in addition to the five Boeing 737-800’s already leased from GECAS and announced earlier this year.
The aircraft will fly in the United States out of the more than 20 air gateways in the Amazon Air network.
“These new aircraft create additional capacity for Amazon Air, building on the investment in our Prime Free One-Day program,” said Dave Clark, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations at Amazon. “By 2021, Amazon Air will have a portfolio of 70 aircraft flying in our dedicated air network.”
The company will open new air facilities this year at Fort Worth Alliance Airport, Wilmington Air Park, and Chicago Rockford International Airport. The main Air Hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport will open in 2021. Since its launch in 2016, Amazon’s air cargo operation has invested millions of dollars and created thousands of new jobs at locations across the U.S.
Amazon has launched several initiatives to ensure fast delivery speeds and supply chain capacity for its customers, including its Delivery Service Partner program, Amazon Flex, the company’s mobile application that allows individuals to sign-up, be vetted and begin delivering for Amazon, a dedicated network of over 10,000 trailers to increase trucking capacity and, now, the expanded fleet of cargo aircraft. These efforts join Amazon’s robust worldwide network of more than 185 fulfilment centres.
Source: Amazon
