E-commerce giant Amazon plans to expand its air cargo segment to India. A new Amazon Prime Air launch could take place in the South Asian country as early as this month, according to a recent report.
Amazon Prime Air coming soon to India
Amazon Prime Air is expected to launch by the end of January, as reported by The Economic Times and ET Now. The soon-to-be Indian airline startup plans to serve the growing Indian market by building its own overnight delivery network, carrying only packages destined for Amazon.
Once launched, India will be the first market outside the US and Europe for Amazon to operate dedicated air freight flights. It’s been an amazing journey for Amazon Air, the airline that took to the skies in 2016 with its first aircraft, the Amazon One.
Photo: Lawrence Glass/Shutterstock.
The new airline will be operated by Bangalore-based cargo airline QuikJet. Quickjet was founded in his 2007 and currently operates two Boeing 737-800 (BCF) aircraft with an average age of 22.3 years.
Amazon Prime Air India will begin operations with two Boeing 737-800s from QuikJet. Plans are to increase the number of cargo ships to her six by the end of this year. The Boeing 737-800BCF is rapidly becoming a popular option for cargo carriers around the world. The maximum takeoff weight for this plane he is 79,000 kg (174,200 lbs). With a design range of 3,700 km (1,995 nautical miles), he is a more versatile option than Boeing’s 737-300SF. The cargo capacity of the aircraft is 24 tons.
According to ch-aviation data, 102 Boeing 737-800BCFs are operated by 32 airlines worldwide. Worldwide ASL Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, and Atlas Air are the largest operators of this model. Each has 11, 12 and 8 of his B737-800BCF respectively.
Photo: Quickjet
Amazon Prime Air gear
In the last six years, Amazon Air has rapidly become the centerpiece of e-commerce giant Amazon’s freight operations. During this period, the airline rapidly added many aircraft and now has over 110 of his aircraft in its global network. He has also launched facilities in North America and Europe, including hubs at Cincinnati/Northern in the US and at Kentucky International Airport and Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany.
According to data from Planespotters.net, Amazon Prime Air currently has 5 ATRs, 30 Boeing 737s and 56 Boeing 767s. Prime Air does not own these aircraft, but subleases them to other cargo carriers such as Atlas Air, Sun Country Airlines and ASL Airlines Ireland.
Last October, Amazon Global Air vice president Sarah Rhoads announced that the company would add 10 Airbus A330-300s leased from aircraft lessor Altavair. These planes are undergoing a passenger-to-cargo conversion and in late 2023 she is expected to enter Amazon’s network. At the same time, Amazon Prime Air will begin phasing out some older aircraft. The aircraft will be operated by Amazon’s newest partner, Hawaiian Airlines, the company announced.
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sauce: Economic Times, ET Now.
