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Bloomberg
Amazon.com Inc is expanding its air cargo operations with plans to grow its fleet to more than 80 planes as the online retailer takes advantage of a depressed market for aircraft during the pandemic.
The company announced that it had leased 12 converted Boeing 767-300 passenger planes from Air Transport Services Group Inc. One was added to Amazon’s existing fleet of 70 aircraft last month, and the rest will be delivered in 2021, the Seattle-based company said.
The deal comes as the global aviation industry grapples with severe travel restrictions to limit the spread of Covid-19.
Amazon, meanwhile, is trying to keep up with a booming e-commerce business that has benefited from a surge in online shopping from people sheltering at home. The company unveiled the air cargo service, now called Amazon Air, in 2016 as it looked to rely less on carriers such as United Parcel Service Inc and FedEx Corp.