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Amazon Air to expand fleet with 12 freighters

Air Transport Services Group to convert 767 widebody passenger planes for cargo

Eric Kulisch
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Amazon is adding a dozen widebody freighters to its fleet. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) said Wednesday it is leasing 12 Boeing 767-300 converted cargo aircraft from Air Transport Services Group (NASDAQ: ATSG), one of the major providers of airlift for its in-house air network. The additional aircraft will bring Amazon’s fleet to more than 80 aircraft by the end of 2021.

One of the new aircraft joined Amazon’s cargo operation in May and the rest of the order will be delivered in 2021, Amazon said.

ATSG’s leasing company, Cargo Aircraft Management (CAM), has deployed seven newly converted 767s in the past year, the company said in its first-quarter earnings release last month. CAM has 62 of its in-service cargo aircraft leased to customers, and 35 of those are operated by sister companies ABX Air or Air Transport International. CAM has 15 aircraft being converted to cargo configuration or ready for lease, and more than half are already committed to customers, with the rest likely to be rented this year or next, ATSG said at the time.

Air Transport International currently provides pilots and maintenance for some 767-300 planes Amazon leases from CAM. The charter operator and ABX Air operate about two dozen 767 all-cargo planes on Amazon’s behalf.


“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, in a statement. “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.”

Amazon Air is also rapidly expanding its airport infrastructure to handle the fleet. The company will open a new regional air hub at Lakeland Linder International Airport in Florida later this summer and, as FreightWaves reported, at San Bernardino International Airport in California next year. Also opening in 2021 is Amazon’s global air hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

In May, Amazon Air began gateway operations at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas, and Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

(Click here for more stories by Eric Kulisch)


Eric Kulisch

Eric is the Supply Chain and Air Cargo Editor at FreightWaves. An award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering the logistics sector, Eric spent nearly two years as the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Automotive News, where he focused on regulatory and policy issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, mobility, fuel economy and safety. He has won two regional Gold Medals and a Silver Medal from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for government and trade coverage, and news analysis. He was voted best for feature writing and commentary in the Trade/Newsletter category by the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He won Environmental Journalist of the Year from the Seahorse Freight Association in 2014 and was the group's 2013 Supply Chain Journalist of the Year. In December 2022, Eric was voted runner up for Air Cargo Journalist by the Seahorse Freight Association. As associate editor at American Shipper Magazine for more than a decade, he wrote about trade, freight transportation and supply chains. He has appeared on Marketplace, ABC News and National Public Radio to talk about logistics issues in the news. Eric is based in Vancouver, Washington. He can be reached for comments and tips at ekulisch@freightwaves.com