Amazon Prime Air branded cargo plane takes off
Amazon’s preoccupation with the skies shows no sign of abating with the e-commerce giant launching its own Prime Air branded cargo plane to ferry goods around the globe.
Amazon One received its public debut at Seattle’s SeaFair Air Show on Friday in the form of a customised Boeing 767-300 operated by Atlas Air, Amazon’s existing air cargo services provider.
The first plane in what Amazon hopes will become a fleet of up to 40 leased planes, the aircraft is the first tangible sign of an ‘air transportation network’ which Amazon aims to build as part of ongoing efforts to reduce delivery times.
This might ultimately prove to be a more practical help than the much publicised drones which Amazon has thus far been trialling and which have yet to deliver a single package.
Ongoing efforts to improve deliveries include a fleet of 4,000 delivery trucks, a mobile app enabling anyone with a van to make their own Amazon deliveries and the introduction of advanced robotics within factories and warehouses.