Here in the UK, Amazon dumped some of the largest last mile logistics companies and rolled out their own fleet of delivery vans.
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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
#42I have been wondering about whether there is a limit to how much Amazon can grow in terms of number of industries they can expand into and also how big can they grow in each of those industries. At some point, there will obviously be attempts to create legislations to stop them from growing. Such legislative maneuvers will probably be rendered ineffective by intense lobbying.
I think there has be change in consumer behavior and expectation to stop Amazon at this point. But will there be significant enough change in consumer behavior so that it is longer feasible for Amazon to grow so much?
Re: Amazon buys 11 Boeing 767s to expand its cargo fleet
#43I 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/
To me in 2014 it was really dumb that Chinese sellers were using USA middlemen to get on Amazon instead of just directly selling on Amazon. In general it seems dumb that any manufacturer isn't just selling direct to consumer if they have a consumer finished product on Amazon. However one insight into the reason is embedded in this anecdote: My friend was asked by a Chinese supplier to sell a thing on Amazon. But the…
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Re: Amazon buys 11 Boeing 767s to expand its cargo fleet
#44Do customers gain from Amazon's increased footprint? They are like a super organism growing and controlling distribution paths. Have there been other companies like Amazon in capitalist history? Google?
Probably this one, over four hundred years ago: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_East_India_Company
If Amazon turns out to be similar to Dutch East India Company, we are looking at Amazon growing 200 years old with dozens of settlements and colonies all over the world.
Re: Amazon buys 11 Boeing 767s to expand its cargo fleet
#45I have been wondering about whether there is a limit to how much Amazon can grow in terms of number of industries they can expand into and also how big can they grow in each of those industries. At some point, there will obviously be attempts to create legislations to stop them from growing. Such legislative maneuvers will probably be rendered ineffective by intense lobbying. I think there has be change in consumer b…
I suppose the upper limit would be becoming the economy itself. Imagine monetary policy being set by https://treasury.amazon.gov.
Re: Amazon buys 11 Boeing 767s to expand its cargo fleet
#46I remember watching a video from Wendover Production talking about the decline of 747 and A380s mainly due to a lack of guaranteed passengers to fill the plane routes in both directions. Exceptions being some airlines which are able to operate hub and spoke models and where fuel is cheap like the middle east airlines. Wouldn't these types of planes be more suitable for a role in logistics which can benefit the greate…
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.
Interesting point: The original reason for the double deck design on the 747 was to allow the entire nose to be a cargo door. Having an upstairs lounge or first class cabin was side benefit.
Re: Amazon buys 11 Boeing 767s to expand its cargo fleet
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
The A340, A380, 727, 747, and L-1011 existed because of the hub-and-spoke model, and the requirement for a minimum of three engines for transoceanic flights. The 777 was the harbinger of their doom, as it brought ETOPS with it. Somewhat tangentially, there is a (strong) argument that twin-engine aircraft are actually safer than three or four engine aircraft. First, they are at lower risk of having an engine problem (…
What is interesting to me is that having 200% power onboard is more cost efficient than only having 133% power onboard.
Lots of reasons for this, here are a couple:
Having extra power helps you climb to cruising altitude quickly. This is a significant consideration, as a great deal of fuel expenditure takes place during the climb through dense, drag-inducing atmosphere.
Engines and aircraft structure are non linear in both up-front cost, maintenance, and economy. Two larger engines have about half as many parts as four smaller ones, impacting production costs and service requirements. Larger fans are also more efficient than smaller ones for a variety of reasons. Fuel systems and aircraft structures are also simpler, lighter, and less expensive with fewer engines.
Re: Amazon buys 11 Boeing 767s to expand its cargo fleet
#48This reminds me of when Ryanair bought 100 Boeing 737-800 aircraft in 2002 after 9/11 hammered the airline industry[0], a very bold forward looking move. It was good for Ryanair and for Boeing. [0] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2002/jan/24/theairlinei...
Right now Ryanair has almost 200 737-800MAX on order, significant amount of these were added during MAX grounding as the prices went down a lot. Bold looking move again, but still shitiest airliner out there
I am still waiting for refunds from Ryanair for cancelled flights in March.
Re: Amazon buys 11 Boeing 767s to expand its cargo fleet
#49Earlier 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.
Interesting point: The original reason for the double deck design on the 747 was to allow the entire nose to be a cargo door. Having an upstairs lounge or first class cabin was side benefit.
Boeing looked at many possible configurations for the 747, a full-length double-deck among them (photos exist of such a wind tunnel model). The short top deck exists for a variety of reasons, one of the more interesting ones is that the 747 was designed to be faster than later airliners, so the Whitcomb area rule is a factor in its design, especially noticeable in the -400 model, where the top deck ends above the wing root leading edge.
Re: Amazon buys 11 Boeing 767s to expand its cargo fleet
#50It'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.
I had a similar experience on a visit to a rural road.
They had built Four+ warehouses all serving Amazon traffic.