Amazon Agrees to Contract 20 Boeing 767 Freighters From Atlas Air

people smirking at this [FedEx] should also recall that UPS started air-freight services not terribly long ago to similar "what ARE they thinking?" commentary. Look at them now...I hope Amazon is successful in this endeavor, and indirectly, success for the air carriers operating the fleet. Win, win.

I am unable to see how Amazon can be a retailer and common carrier at the same time. They already enjoy discounts on shipping that are the envy of every seller with a website. How much more can they save by running their own air carrier?

Scant little I'd venture.

They still need a last mile carrier, and that is the more expensive part of the job. Sure they have a little local delivery business up and running, but it is expensive, and they charge big bucks for it. With the price of delivery built into the price of the goods now, running their own air operation can only serve to increase that. The result will be higher prices (even with the <smirk> free shipping) causing a vector for competition to exploit.

The one good side is about 100 people will build hours in twin aisle jets.

"wet lease" wasn't a term I'd ever heard before, so I looked it up. Nice to learn something new here.

Atlas Air - great company they also contract with the military using two 747 passenger charters and
I think two 67's in passenger configuration. My son came back from the middle east last week on one ;)

Foreign operations. Fedex just doing his aircraft in Europe, outsource as much as possible. With only aircraft you're not, there must be established a nationwide parcel service. Thousands of vans and many distribution centers are needed. The project will Amazon be able to charge an upside. I will not be surprised if Amazon over 3 years is bankrupt.