Holding out the promise of quicker deliveries to its customers, Amazon.com on Thursday unveiled Amazon One, the company’s first branded air cargo plane.
The online retailer said the first branded aircraft will be showcased over the weekend at the Seafair Air Show in Seattle. The Boeing 767-300, seen in this video being painted with the Amazon logos, is one of 40 airplanes that the company has agreed to lease through air cargo partners Atlas Air and Air Transport Services Group and will be rolling out over the next couple of years.
Amazon currently has 11 dedicated airplanes flying for it, with Amazon One the first in the fleet to be branded, Amanda Ip, an Amazon spokeswoman, wrote in an email.
The company’s entry into air logistics suggests that it wants greater control and higher efficiency over the movement of its goods at the backend. It is not clear at this point whether the new network could down the line impact Amazon’s current ties with UPS and FedEx. "We utilize a variety of great carriers and expect to continue doing so," Ip said.
Amazon has been experimenting with new ways of speeding up the delivery of packages to its customers, including using drones for home deliveries. The air cargo service has the Prime Air name that the company gave to its drone service, which has been delayed awaiting relevant regulations from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. "Prime Air represents a family of programs we’re utilizing to fly packages – air cargo planes and our innovative drone program," Ip said.
Additional reporting:
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 06 2016, @08:29AM
The Cloud is literally in the clouds now?
(Score: 2) by GungnirSniper on Saturday August 06 2016, @06:02PM
Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway.
Weren't The Rolling Stones the first band to have their logo on an airplane? Or was that Led Zeppelin?
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