(Reposted with additional executive comments)
Aditi Shah, Nandan Mandayam
NEW DELHI/BENGALU (Reuters) – Amazon.com has launched Amazon Air, a dedicated air cargo service, in India on Thursday. -commercial sales, executives said on Monday.
The company has invested in Indian freight forwarder Quikjet to exclusively transport Amazon packages in four major Indian cities, Sarah Rhoads, vice president of Amazon Global Air, told Reuters. .
Rhoads said the move to a dedicated freight service will give Amazon more control over costs and flight schedules, as well as reduce delivery times for a wider range of products.
“Using a dedicated network gives us more transparency on costs, allows us to control negotiations and adjust schedules to make the most efficient use of our assets,” she said.
“We want to deliver most of our packages within two days, and Amazon Air makes that possible.”
India is the third market the company has launched Amazon Air in, after the US and Europe. In the US, the Seattle-based company, which he launched in 2016, operates a network of more than 110 jets of his that fly to more than 70 locations around the world.
QuickJet, a Bangalore-based freight forwarder, part of Europe’s ASL Aviation, has already operated one plane for Amazon, including Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad from Tuesday. 2nd flight in the city. ASL operates several aircraft for his Amazon in Europe, Rhoads said.
Rhoads said Amazon, an online retailer of books to boots that competes with Walmart Inc-owned Flipkart in India, will expand its fleet based on the success of the two planes.
Using its own ground shipping service for deliveries, Amazon also partners with Blue Dart Express Ltd, one of India’s largest air freight forwarders managed by Deutsche Post DHL Group. (Reporting by Nandan Mandayam, Bangalore; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
