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Amazon.com Inc. is launching air cargo services in India, expanding into Asia even as global online sales growth stalls after a pandemic-era boom. The online retail giant will use the cargo capacity of a Boeing 737-800 operated by its partner Quikjet Cargo Airlines Pvt to start shipments to Hyderabad, Bangalore, New Delhi and Mumbai, said Akhil Saxena, vice president of customer service. Amazon is trying to sell unused space on its cargo planes as it adjusts to a post-pandemic recession that forced it to lay off 12,000 employees, or about 6% of its workforce.
Demand for air cargo has cooled and the industry is expected to slow further this year. The Seattle-based e-commerce company has a fleet of more than 110 aircraft that fly to more than 70 destinations around the world, Saxena said at an Amazon Air launch event in Hyderabad, South America, India on Monday. Amazon is offering space on its planes and charters, plus plans to sublet excess storage space.
Amazon began its air cargo service in 2016, in what was quickly seen as a challenge for United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp. Amazon Air operates out of small regional airports close to its warehouses, helping the company meet compliance orders for deliveries in one and two days.
