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Amazon buys 11 Boeing 767s to expand its cargo fleet

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Re: Amazon buys 11 Boeing 767s to expand its cargo fleet

#21
I predicted in October of 2018 [1], that in 3 years Amazon will start flying freight directly from China to US fulfillment centers and cut out the middlemen (FBA sellers). Since then Amazon has been on-boarding sellers in China at a rapid pace.

- [1] https://www.scaleleap.com/zine/just-in-time-air/

Re: Amazon buys 11 Boeing 767s to expand its cargo fleet

#22
post #2

per wikipedia, it looks like amazon's current fleet is 66 aircraft, and prior to this news had already ordered 15 additional 767-300ER. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Air

Of note, all of those 66 planes are leased from and operated by other cargo airlines, like Atlas Air. Amazon doesn't own the planes or employ the pilots, they just lease the ability to paint the Amazon logo on the side and have the planes fly routes they choose. It's unclear if the planes mentioned in the OP are talking about Amazon actually outright purchasing planes (which would be a first) or if they are just leas…

What's the point of painting the planes in your own colors?

Re: Amazon buys 11 Boeing 767s to expand its cargo fleet

#24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of note, all of those 66 planes are leased from and operated by other cargo airlines, like Atlas Air. Amazon doesn't own the planes or employ the pilots, they just lease the ability to paint the Amazon logo on the side and have the planes fly routes they choose. It's unclear if the planes mentioned in the OP are talking about Amazon actually outright purchasing planes (which would be a first) or if they are just leas…

What's the point of painting the planes in your own colors?

It impresses the other billionaires.

Re: Amazon buys 11 Boeing 767s to expand its cargo fleet

#26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of note, all of those 66 planes are leased from and operated by other cargo airlines, like Atlas Air. Amazon doesn't own the planes or employ the pilots, they just lease the ability to paint the Amazon logo on the side and have the planes fly routes they choose. It's unclear if the planes mentioned in the OP are talking about Amazon actually outright purchasing planes (which would be a first) or if they are just leas…

What's the point of painting the planes in your own colors?

Playing the stock market game.

Re: Amazon buys 11 Boeing 767s to expand its cargo fleet

#27

It's difficult to really get a grasp on Amazon's size but it was a bit eye opening the other day when I was driving down a rural road up in the mountains and passed by an Amazon delivery van. I would have assumed for such a remote location that they'd turn their packages over to the post office to deliver but apparently their delivery service is large enough now to service even the very rural areas.

You're probably overlooking the Amazon distribution center that isn't far away.

Re: Amazon buys 11 Boeing 767s to expand its cargo fleet

#29
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cargo companies seem to have older fleets and the 767s are being displaced from passenger service and have a cargo conversation option. The a380 doesn't have a cargo conversation option as far as I've seen. Plenty of old 747s are in service for cargo flights. Kalitta air has a bunch of older 747s and Atlas has a sizable fleet including some 8Fs.

Pretty sure I’ve read there will never be a cargo a380 because its max takeoff weight is low compared to its volume.

I think cause and effect may be chasing each other here. You're not wrong, but also the A380 was not designed to have a high takeoff weight because they never intended it to carry cargo, so it will never carry cargo because it has a low takeoff weight compared to its volume.

It was a design decision to be a people mover. [0]

0: https://www.flexport.com/blog/airbus-a380-no-cargo-equivalen...

Re: Amazon buys 11 Boeing 767s to expand its cargo fleet

#30
post #2

per wikipedia, it looks like amazon's current fleet is 66 aircraft, and prior to this news had already ordered 15 additional 767-300ER. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Air

As the other poster noted, these are the first outright purchases of planes, vs previous planes were leased from aircraft leasing companies. My understanding is that when you lease, the leasing company handles all the maintenance and crewing and you only specify the routings. Obviously when you buy planes, you're responsible for everything yourself. You can however contract out maintenance and crewing to other contractors.
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