Amazon Air has signed a firm agreement to lease ten A330-300P2F freighters from Altavair. The aircraft will be operated for Amazon by Hawaiian Airlines, which has had A330s as a key element of its fleet since 2010. The ten airframes are being converted by Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH (EFW).
Philippe Karam, Director, Amazon Global Air Fleet & Sourcing said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Airbus to our Amazon Air fleet. These A330-300s will not only be the first of their kind in our fleet, they’ll also be the newest, largest aircraft for Amazon Air, allowing us to deliver more customer packages with each flight.”
Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Airbus International said: “The endorsement of our freighters by Amazon speaks volumes about the market value of the A330 and the position Airbus wide-bodies are gaining in the cargo market. Amazon has built a reputation around delivering their goods to our doorsteps with extraordinary speed and consistency, and we’re very proud that our aircraft are trusted to become a key link in that remarkable logistics chain.”
The first of their A330-300P2F aircraft is expected to join the Amazon Air fleet in late 2023. According to Airbus, the A330 offers Airbus technology that includes fly-by-wire flight controls and an extremely capable platform for freighter conversion.
Amazon Air claims to transport customer packages over longer distances in shorter timeframes to deliver on its customer promise of fast, free delivery.