Amazon Air has signed a firm agreement to lease 10 Airbus A330-300P2Fs from Altavair, which will be operated and maintained by Hawaiian Airlines under their FAA Air Operator Certificate from fall 2023.
On Friday (October 21, 2022), Airbus announced that Amazon Air has signed a firm agreement for the lease of 10 A330-300P2F (Passenger to Freighter) aircraft from Altavair. The aircraft’s capacity and economics will help Amazon fulfill their one-day delivery promise to Amazon Prime customers. Separately, Hawaiian Holdings, parent company of Hawaiian Airlines, announced the signing of a new agreement with Amazon to operate and maintain the initial fleet of 10 Airbus A330-300P2F Freighters from fall 2023. The freighters will be operated and maintained under Hawaiian’s FAA Air Operator Certificate (AOC) and will move cargo between airports located near Amazon’s facilities. The first 10 aircraft will enter service between 2023 and 2024, and the agreement also includes the possibility of future expansion based on Amazon’s business needs.
In Friday’s announcement, Airbus’ Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Airbus international, Christian Scherer, 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.”
Also commenting on the new Airbus A330-300P2F lease agreements, Amazon Global Air’s Director – Fleet & Sourcing, Philippe Karam, 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.”
Hawaiian Airlines’ President and CEO, Peter Ingram, added,
“We are excited to help serve Amazon customers by providing additional air cargo capacity and logistics support. This recognizes our experience in providing safe and reliable operations, our incredible front-line team, and our shared focus on the customer. This relationship provides a catalyst to grow our business and the unique opportunity to diversify our revenue sources while capitalizing on our established strengths.”
The ten Airbus A330-300P2Fs will be converted from passenger aircraft to freighters by Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH (EFW), a joint venture between ST Aviation and Airbus established in 2012. With advanced technology, including fly-by-wire flight controls, the Airbus A330-300 provides an ideal platform for freighter conversion. Since entering service in 1994, over 1,700 A330s have been ordered, with over 1,500 delivered. Both the A330-200 and A330-300 are both eligible for conversion, but the longer -300 is particularly well-suited for integrators and express carriers, thanks to its high volumetric payload capacity with lower density cargo.
As Hawaiian prepares for the new Amazon service, they will establish a continental U.S. pilot base, grow their existing maintenance bases, and expand hiring of pilots, mechanics, dispatchers and supply chain team members. As part of the commercial agreement, Hawaiian Holdings has also issued Amazon warrants to acquire up to 15 percent (post-issuance) of their common shares, exercisable over the next nine years. In 1942, Hawaiian Airlines became the first commercial airline to transport scheduled U.S. air cargo with the nation’s first cargo certificate.
Hawaiian® Airlines, Hawai’i’s hometown airline, has been the number one U.S. carrier for on-time performance for the past 18 years (2004-2021). The carrier has been in business for 93 years and is Hawaiʻi’s largest and longest-serving airline. Hawaiian Airlines offers approximately 130 daily flights within the Hawaiian Islands and daily nonstop service to 15 U.S. mainland gateways. Additionally, the carrier connects Honolulu with American Samoa, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Tahiti. Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HA).
Source(s): Airbus, Hawaiian Airlines