Amazon looks to sell excess air cargo space

Its flights in Sept grew at their slowest pace since the start of the pandemic

Amazon.com is trying to sell excess space on its cargo planes, according to people familiar with the matter, its latest effort to adjust from a rapid pandemic era expansion to a slowdown in online growth.

The e-commerce retailer, which has a fleet of about 100 planes in the US and Europe, in recent months has hired executives with experience marketing cargo space for airlines. Possibilities include filling empty jets returning from Hawaii and Alaska with pineapples and salmon, according to two of the people. An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment on the plans.

The long-term plan for Amazon Air hasn’t changed despite the current turmoil, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are confidential. The pressure to make money from unused space aboard its jets is increasing as the company looks to boost profits in a period of slower revenue growth, another person said.

Amazon unveiled the air cargo service in 2016,

prompting speculation that it would ultimately create an overnight delivery network to rival United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp. Amazon Air operates out of smaller regional airports close to its warehouses around the country, helping the Seattlebased company quickly move inventory to accommodate one- and two-day delivery.

The company’s ultimate goal has befuddled industry experts, who have written conflicting reports about Amazon’s ambitions. Fast growth in its earlier years and a $1.5 billion investment in a hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport fuelled speculation that the company was ramping up to be an overnight parcel service. Other investors said Amazon remains far shy of larger carriers like FedEx and UPS, which have more planes and more flight connections that don’t overlap with Amazon’s core online retail business.

Demand for air cargo has cooled this year, and is expected to tail off again in 2023. IATA, an airline trade group, projects the sector will generate sales of $149.4 billion, about $52 billion less than 2022 but still $48.6 billion more than in 2019.