Amazon launches dedicated air cargo service in India to speed up deliveries

This is set to enable faster deliveries to customers

In an effort to enhance its transportation network and enable faster deliveries to customers, Amazon India announced the launch of Amazon Air in India on Monday. With this, it became the first e-commerce company in the country to come up with a dedicated air cargo network. 

In the initial stage, Amazon Air’s two aircraft will transport customer shipments between four cities — Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai. 

India will be the first country, outside Europe and North America, where Amazon has launched its dedicated air cargo services. The company said that looking at the longer term, it will be focussing on all the three modes — road, rail and air — to speed up the delivery mechanism.

Amazon Air will be working under the brand name Prime Air in India. Amazon will utilise the complete cargo capacity of a Boeing 737-800 aircraft that will be operated by Quikjet Cargo Airlines. The company said that it has no plans to open up the logistics business or Amazon Air to other e-commerce companies at this point.

“We are looking at these four cities only now as we have enough density to cater to. We are looking to use this network as a dedicated one only for Amazon.

We are also working with other third-party carriers to transport our cargo,” said Akhil Saxena, vice-president, customer fulfilment, Amazon.

Saxena added that the launch is proof that the country’s e-commerce sector is growing, despite factors like “recession, inflation and tailwind of Covid going away.”

“Over the last few years, we have taken many positive steps to build our fulfilment, transportation and logistics infrastructure in the country. Our investment in Amazon Air will only further improve the delivery experience for our customers in India. Moreover, the launch will support 1.1 million sellers in India, enabling growth for ancillary businesses such as transportation and aviation,” Saxena added.

When asked about the reported job cuts of around 18,000 globally and around 1,000 in India, Saxena indicated that it may not have any major impact on the fulfilment segment.

“We will constantly look at the investments we are making. All leaders across the globe are evaluating their business. We are looking at what the headcount is and where they want to invest in the future. We are also evaluating where it makes sense for us to meet customer requirements. Because it is an operational team, we are closer to the front end of the customer. I am not sure that we will have too many changes, because these are field operations,” he added.

The company may look at increasing its presence in fulfilment centres and sortation centres, depending on the demand.

At present, it has fulfilment centres in 15 states, with around 43 million cubic feet of space, while it has sortation centres in 19 states. The company said the launch of Amazon Air in India reinforces its commitment to continue building capacity to meet the needs of its customers. It also wants to grow its transportation network for faster deliveries.

“This marks a very important step for our sellers and customers, as well as a huge step forward for the aviation industry. We are celebrating a significant milestone in our global mission to transform the future of logistics,” Saxena added.

Amazon Air was launched in 2016 in the United States. It operates an air cargo network that has grown to include more than 110 aircraft and over 70 destinations worldwide.

“We are thrilled to launch Amazon Air in India to ensure we can provide our growing customer base with great selection, low prices and faster deliveries,” said Sarah Rhoads, vice-president, Amazon Global Air.