Companies like Amazon (AMZN) don’t become companies like Amazon without masterful innovation.
Currently the world’s second-largest company by revenues ($575 billion to be exact), Amazon has been particularly adept at getting its customers the products they want faster than anyone else.
The sheer breadth and availability of its inventory, along with the ease and speed of its delivery service, has enabled Amazon Prime to transform the way consumers shop.
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Think about it. Before 2005, when Prime was launched, next-day delivery for e-commerce purchases was an almost unheard-of phenomenon, and even if a company could facilitate it, they would charge an arm and a leg to do it.
Today, Amazon Prime counts 200 million subscribers on its “free” next-day delivery platform, so it’s safe to say that consumers are not only used to it — they’re addicted to it.
What is the “Amazon Effect?”
A term has even been coined to describe the Seattle-based retailer’s impact on modern society: The Amazon Effect. Because Amazon offers such low prices with such wide selection and so much convenience, many customers now do all of their shopping entirely online, choosing Amazon as their main department store, electronics center, grocery store, and even their pharmacy — unfortunately putting many mom-and-pop retailers out of business in the process.
Powering Amazon forward are its technological advancements, like robots that lift and carry products to employees in fulfillment centers, thus streamlining the packing process, among other efficiencies.
Similarly, Amazon has transformed the global supply network through an innovative infrastructure of warehouses, distribution facilities, and fulfillment centers that can deliver an endless variety of products the very same day that an order is placed.
This has allowed Amazon to command nearly 40% of the e-commerce market in the U.S. — and it’s not quite done innovating yet, either.
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Through vertical integration, Amazon basically created its own supply chain, which helped to reduce its reliance on UPS and FedEx to deliver its goods. Amazon’s assets now include chartered container ships that move products from Asia to the U.S., for instance, as well as thousands of trucks, trailers, and even electric Rivian vans to transport goods across the country, right to customer’s doorsteps, contributing to its 220% increase in profits during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But did you know that Amazon even owns a fleet of aircraft?
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What is Amazon Air? Is Amazon Prime Air still a thing?
Founded in 2015, Amazon Air is the company’s cargo airline. It exists solely to transport Amazon packages — about 450,000 per day, according to Amazon.
Somewhat confusingly, Amazon Air used to be called Amazon Prime Air. The company changed its name in 2017, although aircraft still bear the Prime logo.
Amazon Prime Air is now composed of a fleet of autonomous drones that make one-hour package deliveries within a limited geographic range. Currently, only customers in the College Station, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona metro areas can choose this delivery method, but Amazon plans a wider rollout upon regulatory approval.
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How many airplanes does Amazon Air have?
Amazon Air, on the other hand, is composed of 95 chartered or Amazon-owned jet aircraft: Boeing 737s, Boeing 767s, and Airbus A330s.
The company’s first and main “Air Hub” is in Kentucky at The Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), an 800,000 square-foot-facility spread out over 600 acres that came with a $1.5 billion price tag when it was built in 2019.
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Other hubs soon followed at the Fort Worth Alliance Airport (AFW) in Texas and the San Bernardino International Airport (SBD) in California. In 2020, its first international hub opened at the Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany (LEJ), followed by the Rajib Gandhi International Airport (HYD) in Hyderabad, India.
In all, Amazon Air planes transport packages to more than 50 destinations across North America, Europe, and Asia.
What does Amazon Air do?
Self-described as an “operational symphony,” the purpose of Amazon’s Air Hub cargo network is to transport Amazon packages from far-off fulfillment centers to the buyer’s region.
While the majority (65%) of Amazon’s products can be shipped from an Amazon distribution center directly to a customer in one day or less, aircraft are used to transport niche products like footwear, jewelry, auto parts, and electronics.
Here’s an overview of the process:
- Line-haul trucks carry packages into each Air Hub to be processed.
- Advanced robotics determine where each package is going and route them correctly.
- Smaller packages are placed into bags that fit into the aircraft’s cargo hold for safekeeping.
- Larger packages get loaded onto large metal containers that fit inside the aircraft.
- These containers are transported onto the runway and then lifted onto the aircraft using a heavy-duty forklift. Depending on the size of the aircraft, between 12 and 39 containers can fit on board each plane.
- Once the plane is packed and ready for liftoff, a super-strong tractor helps push it back from the gate. This vehicle can easily maneuver 250 tons at a time.
- Pilots navigate the aircraft to its next Air Hub destination
- Finally, the package arrives at a local Amazon Delivery Station or a local United States Post Office for customer delivery.
Each Air Hub is equipped with Amazon’s latest technology, and, Amazon boasts, much of its equipment is powered by electricity.
MarcelX42, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What do Amazon Air employees do?
Although Amazon does not provide specifics on its current Amazon Air employee headcount, it is estimated that the company will eventually hire more than 15,000 employees for this division in total; currently, at least 4,500 people work in its Kentucky Air Hub alone.
Positions include loading and unloading delivery trucks and airplanes, preparing packages for sortation, and loading packages onto containers.
Does Amazon Air pay well?
Amazon’s compensation varies by location, but according to Glassdoor, which uses machine learning to collect and analyze user and government data to compile its salary estimates, the pay range for an Amazon Air Associate is between $19–$31 per hour, with an average pay of $25 per hour. Amazon Air is actively hiring.
