APEX Tech Acquisition Inc. Raises $111.97 Million in NYSE IPO Under Ticker TRADU 
Nintendo Share Sale: MUFG and Bank of Kyoto to Sell Stakes in Strategic Unwinding 
Coupang Reports Q4 Loss After Data Breach, Revenue Misses Estimates 
Qantas Shares Plunge 10% as Iran Strikes Send Oil Prices Soaring and Disrupt Global Flights 
Anthropic Refuses Pentagon Request to Remove AI Safeguards Amid Defense Contract Dispute 
Meta Signs Multi-Billion Dollar AI Chip Deal With Google to Power Next-Gen AI Models 
Malta will gain from smart heritage 
Trump Orders Federal Agencies to Halt Use of Anthropic AI Technology 
Trump Warns Iran as Gulf Conflict Disrupts Oil Markets and Global Trade 
Trump Media Weighs Truth Social Spin-Off Amid $6B Fusion Energy Pivot 
Lynas Rare Earths Shares Surge 7% After Malaysia Renews Processing Plant Licence for 10 Years 
Nvidia to Launch New AI Inference Processor to Boost OpenAI Performance 
Boeing Secures $166.8 Million U.S. Navy Contract for P-8A Engineering and Software Support 
FCC Approves Charter Communications’ $34.5 Billion Acquisition of Cox Communications 
Panama Investigates CK Hutchison’s Port Unit After Court Voids Canal Contracts 
Samsung and SK Hynix Shares Hit Record Highs as Nvidia Earnings Boost AI Chip Demand 
OpenAI Pentagon AI Contract Adds Safeguards Amid Anthropic Dispute 
Amazon buys several used jets from WestJet and Delta airlines. Jeff Bezos’s company is getting 11 Boeing 767-300 jets, and these will be added to Amazon’s fleet to make delivery faster and accommodate more in this time of the pandemic.
It was said that the delivery service has surged due to the influx of orders from online shops. CNBC News further reported that Amazon is slowly but steadily building its air cargo fleet, and the purchase from the said airlines marked the firm’s first outright aircraft purchase. This is because, in the past, it only depends on leasing agreements for its air freight deliveries.
Amazon’s booming business while airlines struggle
Delta and WestJet are two of the most negatively affected airlines by the COVID-19 pandemic. Because there are fewer people who are traveling these days, the opportunity to generate good revenue was lost. In fact, several airlines around the world have already closed down or laid off thousands of employees due to lack of profits.
As this happens, prices of aircraft have plummeted, and Amazon saw this as its chance to expand its fleet while not spending too much. Apparently, the cargo carrier business is booming amid the pandemic; thus, Amazon is expanding its air freight.
Amazon is acquiring some planes from Delta that declared a $5 billion loss in the 3rd Quarter of 2020. Pilots and crews were also asked to go on leave since the demand for travel is too low. Apparently, it also started selling some of its planes, and some of them will go to Amazon.
In any case, four WestJet planes are currently being converted to cargo jets to accommodate Amazon’s needs for its delivery service. It was not mentioned when the actual turn over of the planes is set to take place.
“Having a mix of both leased and owned aircraft in our growing fleet allows us to better manage our operations, which, in turn, helps us to keep pace with meeting our customer promises,” Amazon Global Air vice president Sarah Rhoads said in a statement.
About Amazon Air
Amazon will launch its air fleet, and the company is expected to have a total of 85 planes on its ground. This will be completed in 2022, and the planes will be both from leased agreements and owned.
Having its own fleet means that the company will no longer rely on FedEx or UPS for its deliveries. Meanwhile, as per MarketWatch, Amazon shares today are slightly lower, but it has gained around 70% in the last 12 months.
