Amazon Air

**Amazon Air**, formerly known as **Amazon Prime Air**, is a cargo airline operating exclusively to transport Amazon packages. It currently leases all of its aircraft from other cargo airlines. In 2017, it changed its name from Amazon Prime Air to Amazon Air to differentiate themselves from their eponymous drone delivery service. However, the Prime Air logo remains on the aircraft.

By 2021, Amazon Air will have at least 70 cargo aircraft operating out of over 20 air gateways in the United States.

## History

In late 2015, Amazon began trial cargo runs out of Wilmington Air Park under the code name Project Aerosmith. In December 2015, Amazon announced that it would begin its own cargo airline to expand its capability.

In March 2016, Amazon acquired options to buy up to 19.9 percent of Air Transport International's stock and began scheduled operations with 20 Boeing 767 aircraft.

On January 31, 2017, Amazon announced that Amazon Air would make Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) its principal hub, which began operations on April 30, 2017. Amazon received $40 million in tax incentives and plans to begin construction on a 920-acre (370 ha) facility with a 3×106 sq ft (69-acre; 28 ha) sorting facility and parking space for over 100 cargo aircraft the project is estimated to cost $1.5 billion.

In December 2017 the company, which was named Amazon Prime Air, announced its rebranding as Amazon Air to avoid confusion with the Amazon Prime Air drone delivery service.

As of June 2018, Amazon Air had 20 of its 33 cargo planes based at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), with the rest flying point-to-point transit routes across the United States. Amazon Air was to move into office space at the former Comair headquarters by March 2018.

Amazon leased 10 additional Boeing 767-300 planes from ATSG in December 2018.

Amazon's utilization is 6–7 hours per day, less than half of FedEx Express or UPS Airlines' 767s. From their respective hub, Amazon reaches fewer than 30 markets, some less than daily, while FedEx's network touched 130 markets multiple times per day, with little overlap in capacity, frequency or markets served.

Amazon has completed a new regional air hub at Fort Worth Alliance Airport and does not airlift third-party packages. The new regional hub began operating on October 2, 2019.

For 2019 and 2020, Amazon has committed to leasing 10 additional 767-300 aircraft from Air Transport Services Group. This would bring active aircraft to a total of 50. Phase one of the CVG sort facility, encompassing 440 acres (180 ha) is scheduled for completion in 2020, while the remaining 479 acres (194 ha) will be developed by 2025–2027 during phase two. Amazon eventually plans to have over 100 aircraft based at CVG with over 200 daily flights and 15,000 employees.

In July, 2020, Amazon Air has secured up to six million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supplied by Shell Aviation and produced by World Energy.

## Fleet

Amazon Air fleet
 Total

## Accidents

On February 23, 2019, Atlas Air Flight 3591 (a Boeing 767-300BDSF, operating for Amazon Air) crashed into Trinity Bay near Anahuac, Texas. The crash occurred approximately 30 miles (48 km) southeast of George Bush Intercontinental Airport while the aircraft was on approach to the airport. The aircraft was operating a regularly scheduled trip from Miami International Airport to George Bush Intercontinental. All three people on board (two crew members and one passenger) were killed.