Amazon to Use Airbus Cargo Planes for First Time

Hawaiian said the deal will involve the airline issuing warrants to Amazon, giving the e-commerce company rights to take a stake of up to 15% in Hawaiian.

Amazon outsources all of its flying and rents most of its planes, with its first Airbus jets leased from Altavair LP, a specialist aviation firm. The aircraft are being converted from passenger flying to only carry freight.

Hawaiian was one of six U.S. bidders for the contract, said

Sarah Rhoads,

vice president of Amazon Global Air, the company’s aviation arm.

Hawaiian operates a dozen Airbus A330s on passenger flights. The unit of

Hawaiian Holdings Inc.

HA 13.49%

is the largest U.S. passenger carrier to fly on Amazon’s behalf, with most of the work being carried out by cargo specialists such as

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc.

and

Air Transport Services Group Inc.

Amazon has stakes in Atlas, which is being taken private by an investor group led by

Apollo Global Management Inc.,

and ATSG.

Amazon started hiring airlines in 2015 to fly its parcels around the U.S. and has since expanded with an outsourced European business. Ms. Rhoads declined to comment on when Amazon might use its buying power to make aircraft orders of its own, and even set up its own airline.

“Right now, we’re sitting exactly where we need to sit,” she said.

Air cargo boomed during the pandemic, but growth rates have slowed and pricing has weakened. Ms. Rhoads said Amazon hadn’t changed its plans for capacity even as rivals such as

FedEx Corp.

parked airplanes.

Amazon chose the 10 Airbus A330s mainly because they were more available for conversion to all-cargo planes from passenger use than the Boeing 767 planes that make up the bulk of its fleet, said Ms. Rhoads.

While the Airbus jets are larger than the 767, they wouldn’t be used to provide services for other customers, said Ms. Rhoads. Amazon currently flies its own parcels and some for the U.S. Postal Service.

Write to Doug Cameron at [email protected]