Amazon’s Air Fleet Grows to Meet Need for Delivery Speed

If it wasn’t clear before, Amazon.com’s recent decision to purchase 11 aircraft underscores the company’s long-term commitment to operating a freighter fleet.

When the 767-300 passenger jets purchased from Delta Air Lines and WestJet Airlines are converted to freighters and have entered service by the end of next year, Amazon Air will have 85 owned and leased cargo planes. That fleet size raises expectations the e-commerce giant may take the operations in-house, following a pattern of its ground operations where the company first used third-party logistics networks and eventually took over most of those operations.