Amazon Air flights increase 34%, will it threaten UPS and FedEx?

Amazon Air rapidly expanded its network and fleet last year, while growth at UPS and FedEx nearly stagnated .

According to foreign media reports, Amazon Airlines took advantage of the increase in e-commerce demand during the epidemic and significantly expanded its business last year .

Data analytics company Spire   The latest data from Amazon Aviation shows that in the past 12 months, the number of airports Amazon Air flies to has increased by 21%. At the same time, the number of aircraft operated in its fleet has increased by 25%, and the number of cargo flights has increased by 34%.

It is understood that Amazon has been planning for the air cargo market many years ago . In 2015, Amazon established Prime Air and changed its name to Amazon Air in 2017 .

A key move in Amazon Air 's expansion came in the third quarter of last year, when CNBC revealed that Amazon Air was delivering goods for third parties, putting it in direct competition with UPS and FedEx in that business.

In stark contrast to the rapid expansion of Amazon Air, the growth of UPS and FedEx can be described as slow. Data shows that last year, the number of UPS's destination airports increased by 1%, its fleet increased by 0.4%, and the number of flights increased by 10%. FedEx's number of destination airports increased by 1%, its fleet decreased by 1%, and the number of cargo flights increased by 3%.

While FedEx and UPS haven’t kept pace with Amazon Air’s rapid growth, their fleets far outpace Amazon’s : FedEx operates 473 aircraft, while UPS has 289.

According to Amazon's plan, by the end of 2022, its fleet will expand to more than 85 aircraft , including leased and owned aircraft, and Amazon also hopes to introduce a new aircraft model . According to Bloomberg, Amazon is paying close attention to the Boeing 777-300ER and hopes to use it as its new model .

In addition to the size of its fleet, Amazon is also building its own airport . In 2019, it broke ground on its first air hub in Kentucky. After two years of construction, the air hub, which covers more than 3,600 acres , officially opened in August 2021. It is understood that Amazon Air has invested about $1.5 billion in the project and recruited about 2,000 employees. It can accommodate at least 100 aircraft and operate 200 flights.

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