Amazon continues to adapt to meet the changing needs of customers by investing in ways to provide fast, free delivery and this week the company announced the lease of 12 Boeing 767-300 converted cargo aircraft from Air Transport Services Group (ATSG). These aircraft will join Amazon’s existing fleet of 70 aircraft to bring its total network to over 80 aircraft. One of the new aircraft joined Amazon’s air cargo operations in May 2020, with the remaining 11 to be delivered in 2021.
Amazon to lease 12 additional 767-300 converted cargo aircraft, increasing their fleet to over 80 aircraft as part of Amazon’s dedicated air cargo network
Amazon Air’s fleet expansion comes at a time when people in communities across the country continue to adjust to this unprecedented time, with many relying on having the items they need delivered directly to their doorstep. Amazon Air has played a central role during the COVID-19 pandemic by transporting essential PPE supplies for Amazon associates, frontline health workers and relief organizations across the U.S., all while maintaining capacity for regular cargo operations to ensure customers continue to receive the items they need. Now, with expanded cargo capacity to come, Amazon will continue to meet evolving demand and a growing customer base.
“Amazon Air is critical to ensuring fast delivery for our customers – both in the current environment we are facing, and beyond,” said Sarah Rhoads, Vice President of Amazon Global Air. “During a time when so many of our customers rely on us to get what they need without leaving their homes, expanding our dedicated air network ensures we have the capacity to deliver what our customers want: great selection, low prices and fast shipping speeds.”
“We are proud to continue to evolve our partnership with Amazon to support the fast, free delivery for which they are famous,” said Rich Corrado, President and CEO of ATSG. “Our combined experience in the industry and access to a fleet of 767 cargo aircraft make us an ideal partner to support the growth of Amazon Air’s fleet.”
Amazon continues to expand on-the-ground operations in addition to aircraft. Amazon will open new Regional Air Hubs at Lakeland Linder International Airport in Florida later this summer and at San Bernardino International Airport next year, along with the central Amazon Air Hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in 2021. In May, Amazon Air began Gateway operations at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas, and Luis Muรฑoz Marรญn International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Since Amazon Air’s launch in 2016, Amazon has invested hundreds of millions of dollars and created thousands of new jobs at Amazon Air locations across the U.S.
All twelve will be leased to Amazon for ten years, with options for Amazon to extend the leases for three additional years.
Cargo Aircraft Management (CAM), ATSG’s aircraft leasing subsidiary, currently leases twenty-seven 767 aircraft to Amazon, including six leased during 2019. In December 2018, Amazon committed to lease those six plus an additional four 767s from CAM by the end of 2020. The agreement announced today increases the projected number of 767s CAM will have leased to Amazon to 31 by the end of 2020 and to 42 by the end of 2021.
Rich Corrado, President and CEO of ATSG said, “This new commitment is further evidence of Amazon’s confidence in our ability to support its expanding U.S. air network. We look forward to supporting Amazon with additional aircraft capacity and to generating additional revenues and cash flows for our shareholders from our unique asset and service offerings, for many years to come.”
Widebody Boeing 767 freighters have become the preeminent midsize component of regional air-cargo networks over the last ten years, and ATSG is the world’s largest lessor of that aircraft type. ATSG expects to end 2020 with seventy-eight owned 767 freighter aircraft in operation, seventy-one of which will be leased to eleven external customers.
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