Amazon.com on Monday launched a dedicated air freight service in India, Amazon Air, as it wants to expand and speed up delivery across one of its key markets. amid fast-rising e-commerce sales, an executive said Monday.
The company has invested in Indian freighter Quikjet to exclusively ship packages for Amazon across India’s four major cities, Sarah Rhoads, vice president, Amazon Global Air told Reuters, without specifying the size of the investment.
Rhoads said that switching to a dedicated freight service will give Amazon more control over flight costs and schedules, and reduce delivery times across a wider range of products.
“When we use a dedicated network… we’re more transparent about costs, we control the negotiations, and we push the schedule to make sure we’re using the assets in the right way. most effective,” she said.
“We like to deliver the majority of shipments in two days or less, and Amazon Air allows that.”
India is the third market, after the US and Europe, where the company has launched Amazon Air. The Seattle-based company, which began service in 2016 in the United States, operates a network of more than 110 jets that fly to more than 70 locations worldwide.
Quikjet, the Bengaluru-based freight carrier that is a unit of Europe’s ASL Aviation, has already operated one plane for Amazon and will start a second from Tuesday across cities including Mumbai , Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Rhoads said ASL operates a number of planes for Amazon in Europe.
Rhoads said Amazon, the online book retailer that competes with Walmart Inc-owned Flipkart in India, will expand its fleet based on the success of the two planes.
Amazon, which uses its own ground delivery services for shipping, also partnered with Deutsche Post DHL Group controlled by Blue Dart Express Ltd, one of India’s largest air carriers. .
