Amazon setting up its own air freight operation?

Amazon may be setting up its own air freight service to compete with the likes of UPS, FedEx and DHL. Reports have emerged that the company has begun flights through a contractor out of Wilmington Air Park, Ohio.

The contractor, the Air Transport Services Group, who own a fleet of Boeing 767s, remain tight-lipped about exactly who their new customer is due to a non-disclosure agreement. VICE Motherboard claims that it’s the e-commerce giant Amazon based on multiple sources.

The city of Wilmington was the location of a DHL U.S. Express hub until 2009, when it closed and nearly 8,000 people lost their jobs—leaving a large pool of workers who would be experienced with air freight and logistics operations.

In 2013, Amazon was one of the companies who suffered when third-party shipping partners such as UPS could not meet Christmas demands. A new air freight logistics operation for Amazon could merely be supplementary during peak seasons, or it could be the start of something more ambitious.

(Source: VICE Motherboard)