Spacepope wrote:

Scramble has a pic of the first Silver ATR in Amazon colors.

https://www.scramble.nl/civil-news/1st- ... 2f-spotted

I thought Prime Air was reserved for the drone delivery service, and the hub to hub stuff was now called Amazon Air. I get why the 767s and 737s were painted Prime Air, but why not fix this with the ATRs?

wjcandee wrote:

Spacepope wrote:

Scramble has a pic of the first Silver ATR in Amazon colors.

Good catch! I guess the limited fuselage space forward of the wing and aft of the cockpit leads to the tiny lettering. Looks sorta wimpy, but I guess that's all they could do.

I'm more disappointed by the livery as a whole. I'm assuming and hoping it's just some quick and temporary decals.

USAirKid wrote:

I thought Prime Air was reserved for the drone delivery service, and the hub to hub stuff was now called Amazon Air. I get why the 767s and 737s were painted Prime Air, but why not fix this with the ATRs?

You are correct that Prime Air is technically the drones, and the organic air service is a division called Amazon Global Air, which is shortened to Amazon Air. However, the planes all say Prime Air on them, because that's how they chose to brand/livery the planes. Prime is the brand that they want to put in front of the public. Global Air is just an internal organization that nobody who isn't an enthusiast, contractor, vendor, employee, etc., really knows about.

I know it's not necessarily logical, but that's how they've chosen to do it.

wjcandee wrote:

USAirKid wrote:

I thought Prime Air was reserved for the drone delivery service, and the hub to hub stuff was now called Amazon Air. I get why the 767s and 737s were painted Prime Air, but why not fix this with the ATRs?

You are correct that Prime Air is technically the drones, and the organic air service is a division called Amazon Global Air, which is shortened to Amazon Air. However, the planes all say Prime Air on them, because that's how they chose to brand/livery the planes. Prime is the brand that they want to put in front of the public. Global Air is just an internal organization that nobody who isn't an enthusiast, contractor, vendor, employee, etc., really knows about.

I know it's not necessarily logical, but that's how they've chosen to do it.

Is drone delivery even a thing anymore? A few years it was a hot topic in the Media. I don't recall seeing much on it recently. I have a lot of questions on the feasibility of drones but that is a topic for another thread.

Edit: Fingers faster than the brain.

USAirKid wrote:

Spacepope wrote:

Scramble has a pic of the first Silver ATR in Amazon colors.

https://www.scramble.nl/civil-news/1st- ... 2f-spotted

I thought Prime Air was reserved for the drone delivery service, and the hub to hub stuff was now called Amazon Air. I get why the 767s and 737s were painted Prime Air, but why not fix this with the ATRs?

Oooh... maybe they are setting this up for optionally piloted freighters *takes tinfoil hat off*

It's not like the average person is going to notice these freighters at the airport let alone be concerned with the branding. That's just for us nerds.

N154DL CAM B763 routed ATL-ILN today, arriving late morning. This the triple landing gear change? cheers!

I think this is on topic. Res Drones. Where I live there are thousands of people living on the waterfront with a driveway dropping 300 feet in elevation. I could easily see a drone flying the driveway and putting the package in an approved carport type structure.

Spacepope wrote:

Scramble has a pic of the first Silver ATR in Amazon colors.

https://www.scramble.nl/civil-news/1st- ... 2f-spotted

Anyone else surprised that they didn't give it a full freighter conversion (window plugs, freight door, etc.)?

MavyWavyATR wrote:

Spacepope wrote:

Scramble has a pic of the first Silver ATR in Amazon colors.

https://www.scramble.nl/civil-news/1st- ... 2f-spotted

Anyone else surprised that they didn't give it a full freighter conversion (window plugs, freight door, etc.)?

That is IPR Conversion's BFC package (Bulk Freighter Cargo). The Large Cargo Door is a separate STC.

https://iprconversions.com/atr-structural-tube/

Since it looks like an economy paint job, I'm not surprised about anything.

MO11 wrote:

MavyWavyATR wrote:

Spacepope wrote:

Scramble has a pic of the first Silver ATR in Amazon colors.

https://www.scramble.nl/civil-news/1st- ... 2f-spotted

Anyone else surprised that they didn't give it a full freighter conversion (window plugs, freight door, etc.)?

That is IPR Conversion's BFC package (Bulk Freighter Cargo). The Large Cargo Door is a separate STC.

https://iprconversions.com/atr-structural-tube/

Since it looks like an economy paint job, I'm not surprised about anything.

It looks like cargo sidewalls inside the windows.

I’m most surprised they painted the lettering right over the windows though.

N241AZ ATI B763 ex N391AA returned to ILN from ROW, after paint into AZ colors, late this afternoon. cheers!

N1619A (which has been running DHL lately) ferried to Opa-Locka today. Even lower-cost maintenance?

MO11 wrote:

N1619A (which has been running DHL lately) ferried to Opa-Locka today. Even lower-cost maintenance?

I'm assuming that it's going to Xtreme Aviation. They're certified to work on 767s, but I can't think of anyone who has used them, although I guess there must be.

Atlas has been using Flightstar at VQQ on the 767s basically since Premier shut down its NY facility. Interesting to see how this ends up going.

This is gonna be a c-check; Atlas's maint program seems to put them in the shop around every 18 months, and the last hmv on this frame was 2/22-3/17/20. So it's time.

wjcandee wrote:

MO11 wrote:

N1619A (which has been running DHL lately) ferried to Opa-Locka today. Even lower-cost maintenance?

I'm assuming that it's going to Xtreme Aviation. They're certified to work on 767s, but I can't think of anyone who has used them, although I guess there must be.

Eastern.

MO11 wrote:

Eastern.

There you go. Oy. I guess we'll see.

wjcandee wrote:

MO11 wrote:

Eastern.

There you go. Oy. I guess we'll see.

We see heavy-ish Mx as a bottleneck lately. Perhaps Atlas is in a “whoever can get the job done” mindset.

You know, folks, I really haven't seen any big articles anywhere about how the new Amazon air hub is ramping up. We see the schedule changes at CVG, but oddly I haven't seen any video stories showing packages moving through the site, or newspaper articles with photos of the thing running. I don't have a sense of what if anything DHL is still doing for Amazon at CVG. I suspect that Amazon was smart enough to ramp it up in phases, not just cut over to it over a weekend. (Ahem. DHL/AStar/ABX) But I'm really in the dark. Anybody see anything interesting about it other than the simple announcement?

Spacepope wrote:

wjcandee wrote:

MO11 wrote:

Eastern.

There you go. Oy. I guess we'll see.

We see heavy-ish Mx as a bottleneck lately. Perhaps Atlas is in a “whoever can get the job done” mindset.

That's certainly a possibility. But of course the more you spread the work around, the more reps you need in order to have one or more at each shop. And the quality of the work is very-often a function of who the rep is, and they're not all equally-good. So it becomes a management issue. Hardly-insurmountable, but another hole potentially punched in the swiss cheese, at least as to reliability.

The general public doesn't necessarily think of aircraft maintenance as being the kind of people and relationships business that it actually is.

wjcandee wrote:

You know, folks, I really haven't seen any big articles anywhere about how the new Amazon air hub is ramping up….

https://www.cincinnati.com/picture-gall ... 353383002/

This is the latest article I’ve seen. A bit of a puff piece, but it has some pictures.

MO11 wrote:

N557CM, N605DL, and N620DL were all sold on July 21 and placed in a trust (usually, if it's Bank of Utah, it's not something suspicious).

And now N531UA was sold October 1 and placed in trust; probably same buyer.

wjcandee wrote:

That's certainly a possibility. But of course the more you spread the work around, the more reps you need in order to have one or more at each shop. And the quality of the work is very-often a function of who the rep is, and they're not all equally-good. So it becomes a management issue. Hardly-insurmountable, but another hole potentially punched in the swiss cheese, at least as to reliability.

The general public doesn't necessarily think of aircraft maintenance as being the kind of people and relationships business that it actually is.

I was going through the SDRs on this aircraft yesterday. Pretty dang young both hours and cycles wise (76000/14500-ish) but it had a spate of recorded work in June, enough so I thought for a second it had had a heavy check back then.

Spacepope wrote:

I was going through the SDRs on this aircraft yesterday. Pretty dang young both hours and cycles wise (76000/14500-ish) but it had a spate of recorded work in June, enough so I thought for a second it had had a heavy check back then.

It had a 4-day stop in Miami in June, then a stop in Mexico City during the first 3 weeks of August.....

Spacepope wrote:

I was going through the SDRs on this aircraft yesterday. Pretty dang young both hours and cycles wise (76000/14500-ish) but it had a spate of recorded work in June, enough so I thought for a second it had had a heavy check back then.

MO11 mentioned it was in MIA for a few days in June, apparently for some work. Atlas is super-meticulous about their SDRs, so I'm not surprised that if they worked on it then, they documented it thoroughly in the SDRs.

MajMattMason wrote:

wjcandee wrote:

You know, folks, I really haven't seen any big articles anywhere about how the new Amazon air hub is ramping up….

https://www.cincinnati.com/picture-gall ... 353383002/

This is the latest article I’ve seen. A bit of a puff piece, but it has some pictures.

THANK YOU!! Very interesting. Drive robots, Robin arms -- very cool! Interesting that they're seeing 7 planes now and up to a dozen by December. So, like I expected, the place is ramping up VERY-slowly. In the photos, it looks positively-empty! The thing is cavernous and massive; evidently it's all built-out, but the ramp-up is going to be very-deliberate. Can't wait to see what it's doing a year from now.

I do recall reading somewhere that all these technologies have been installed and worked with in at least a couple of the regional hubs, so they're not starting from scratch. ILN is not one of those, apparently.

wjcandee wrote:

MajMattMason wrote:

wjcandee wrote:

You know, folks, I really haven't seen any big articles anywhere about how the new Amazon air hub is ramping up….

https://www.cincinnati.com/picture-gall ... 353383002/

This is the latest article I’ve seen. A bit of a puff piece, but it has some pictures.

THANK YOU!! Very interesting. Drive robots, Robin arms -- very cool! Interesting that they're seeing 7 planes now and up to a dozen by December. So, like I expected, the place is ramping up VERY-slowly. In the photos, it looks positively-empty! The thing is cavernous and massive; evidently it's all built-out, but the ramp-up is going to be very-deliberate. Can't wait to see what it's doing a year from now.

I do recall reading somewhere that all these technologies have been installed and worked with in at least a couple of the regional hubs, so they're not starting from scratch. ILN is not one of those, apparently.

The thing I'm really curious about is the drive unit robots, does anyone have video of those in action? It kinda seems like they'd be significantly less efficient than just a conveyor belt based system..

wjcandee wrote:

MajMattMason wrote:

wjcandee wrote:

You know, folks, I really haven't seen any big articles anywhere about how the new Amazon air hub is ramping up….

https://www.cincinnati.com/picture-gall ... 353383002/

This is the latest article I’ve seen. A bit of a puff piece, but it has some pictures.

THANK YOU!! Very interesting. Drive robots, Robin arms -- very cool! Interesting that they're seeing 7 planes now and up to a dozen by December. So, like I expected, the place is ramping up VERY-slowly. In the photos, it looks positively-empty! The thing is cavernous and massive; evidently it's all built-out, but the ramp-up is going to be very-deliberate. Can't wait to see what it's doing a year from now.

I do recall reading somewhere that all these technologies have been installed and worked with in at least a couple of the regional hubs, so they're not starting from scratch. ILN is not one of those, apparently.

Similar sort systems are used at LAL and AFW I believe.

nws2002 wrote:

Similar sort systems are used at LAL and AFW I believe.

Thank you! That makes sense.

USAirKid wrote:

wjcandee wrote:

MajMattMason wrote:

https://www.cincinnati.com/picture-gall ... 353383002/

This is the latest article I’ve seen. A bit of a puff piece, but it has some pictures.

THANK YOU!! Very interesting. Drive robots, Robin arms -- very cool! Interesting that they're seeing 7 planes now and up to a dozen by December. So, like I expected, the place is ramping up VERY-slowly. In the photos, it looks positively-empty! The thing is cavernous and massive; evidently it's all built-out, but the ramp-up is going to be very-deliberate. Can't wait to see what it's doing a year from now.

I do recall reading somewhere that all these technologies have been installed and worked with in at least a couple of the regional hubs, so they're not starting from scratch. ILN is not one of those, apparently.

The thing I'm really curious about is the drive unit robots, does anyone have video of those in action? It kinda seems like they'd be significantly less efficient than just a conveyor belt based system..

The Kiva robots supplement the greater system of conveyor belts and slides. They aren’t the only tech employed, but they are nifty.

https://spectrum.ieee.org/amazon-introd ... use-robots

MajMattMason wrote:

wjcandee wrote:

You know, folks, I really haven't seen any big articles anywhere about how the new Amazon air hub is ramping up….

https://www.cincinnati.com/picture-gall ... 353383002/

This is the latest article I’ve seen. A bit of a puff piece, but it has some pictures.

The plant is reported to eventually have the capacity of moving a million packages a day. According to a Forbes article they now move 2.5 billion a year in the US, but could hit 6.5 billion next year. If all this is true then Cincinnati could be dealing with about 5% of the deliverines. But I may be mixing apples and oranges. The Forbes article discusses the implications of Amazon's huge capacity to move things. Anyone have a handle on this?

ps - the short Forbes article has a lot of data, I am assuming that it is correct. (?)

CAM transferred N241AZ to Amazon yesterday (Tuesday).

MO11 wrote:

CAM transferred N241AZ to Amazon yesterday (Tuesday).

She has been back from paint for a week, so good to hear that she should be in service shortly.

N898CU is scheduled to ferry MZJ-ILN today. This is one of the former Rouge 763's with PW4000s. We'll see where it goes from here. Sister ship N900UD still sits at ILN

gdavis003 wrote:

N898CU is scheduled to ferry MZJ-ILN today. This is one of the former Rouge 763's with PW4000s. We'll see where it goes from here. Sister ship N900UD still sits at ILN

Interesting. MO11 pointed out a while back that CAM bought it on 7/1/21. So it's 5th in line to go over to TLV from ILN. Seems like we should be getting some movement over and back pretty soon.

And it looks like it's just about to arrive!

wjcandee wrote:

MO11 wrote:

N1619A (which has been running DHL lately) ferried to Opa-Locka today. Even lower-cost maintenance?

I'm assuming that it's going to Xtreme Aviation. They're certified to work on 767s, but I can't think of anyone who has used them, although I guess there must be.

Atlas has been using Flightstar at VQQ on the 767s basically since Premier shut down its NY facility. Interesting to see how this ends up going.

This is gonna be a c-check; Atlas's maint program seems to put them in the shop around every 18 months, and the last hmv on this frame was 2/22-3/17/20. So it's time.

Extreme Aviation.

We used them to do a C-Check on HP-3310 and now they are working the line alongside our MX personnel at MIA.

N898CU CAM B763 arrived at ILN from MZJ early this evening. N241AZ AZ B763 operated her inaug flight ILN-SEA early this morning, & returned today early evening SEA-ILN. cheers!

Bloomberg recently published Amazon Delivery Partners Rage Against the Machines: ‘We Were Treated Like Robots’.

It's fascinating how much control Amazon has over their DSPs, down to being able to fire employees. There also is a fair bit of discussion from how things are managed algorithmically from Seattle.

I find this fascinating that Amazon has essentially adopted the FedEx Ground model, although they periodically remove FedEx Ground from seller fulfilled prime. (Not that I blame them, I had a Kroger package from Cincinnati, Ohio to Seattle, Washington that went via FedEx Ground. FedEx originally said it'd be delivered on Thursday, then they said it would be Friday. It finally arrived on Tuesday. To top it off, the tracking and promised delivery date was really mediocre.)

I'm curious if Amazon would ever consider the model that the US3 have considered: owning a few of the DSPs, both as a learning and bargaining tool. (DL owns Endeavor Air. AA owns Piedmont, Envoy, and PSA. UA's situation on this is weird and murky given their contract with their FAs.) Besides air and truck transportation Amazon runs their own operation with their own employees, this means they get both feedback on the operation as well as the ability to promote within, which gives them people that understand the operation. Amazon is a good at managing vendors, but I'd suggest some of their best vendors are the ones that already were in and understand their businesses.

Anecdotally in Seattle, I've seen fewer packages fulfilled by Amazon in the last mile. They seem to be leaning on UPS and USPS a bit more than in the past, I'm wondering if this is due to capacity issues in with DSPs and Flex.

USAirKid wrote:

Bloomberg recently published Amazon Delivery Partners Rage Against the Machines: ‘We Were Treated Like Robots’.

It's fascinating how much control Amazon has over their DSPs, down to being able to fire employees. There also is a fair bit of discussion from how things are managed algorithmically from Seattle.

*SNIP*

Anecdotally in Seattle, I've seen fewer packages fulfilled by Amazon in the last mile. They seem to be leaning on UPS and USPS a bit more than in the past, I'm wondering if this is due to capacity issues in with DSPs and Flex.

It's all interconnected, and these flights don't happen if the final mile isn't either.

Around here the Amazon branded vans (and leased in capacity already... one last weekend still had "local dealer Courtesy Shuttle" on the back) are still the rule. We also get UPS delivering things however they are maxed out on Package Cars and are using Ryder-type and Sprinter trucks now here with UPS DOT placards on them.

A lot of this goes back to Amazon having a lot of control over the independent DSPs, to the point where DSPs are supposedly fighting with drivers to accept any loaded vehicle as-is so Amazon doesn't ding them and drop routed from the DSP. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/30/amazon- ... tions.html

I'm stocking up on popcorn (in addition to 3-4 months of consumables) for these next 2 1/2 months of peak. Final mile is going to be a bloodbath, especially with the auto production shutdowns. Dealer lots today loo very empty, rental cars are hard to find, and personal vehicles have a higher average number of miles on them, all the while delivery vehicles aren't getting any younger or used less in the meantime.

It's almost like the most slack and flexibility right now is in the air network.

Spacepope wrote:

USAirKid wrote:

Bloomberg recently published Amazon Delivery Partners Rage Against the Machines: ‘We Were Treated Like Robots’.

It's fascinating how much control Amazon has over their DSPs, down to being able to fire employees. There also is a fair bit of discussion from how things are managed algorithmically from Seattle.

*SNIP*

Anecdotally in Seattle, I've seen fewer packages fulfilled by Amazon in the last mile. They seem to be leaning on UPS and USPS a bit more than in the past, I'm wondering if this is due to capacity issues in with DSPs and Flex.

It's all interconnected, and these flights don't happen if the final mile isn't either.

Around here the Amazon branded vans (and leased in capacity already... one last weekend still had "local dealer Courtesy Shuttle" on the back) are still the rule. We also get UPS delivering things however they are maxed out on Package Cars and are using Ryder-type and Sprinter trucks now here with UPS DOT placards on them.

A lot of this goes back to Amazon having a lot of control over the independent DSPs, to the point where DSPs are supposedly fighting with drivers to accept any loaded vehicle as-is so Amazon doesn't ding them and drop routed from the DSP. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/30/amazon- ... tions.html

I'm stocking up on popcorn (in addition to 3-4 months of consumables) for these next 2 1/2 months of peak. Final mile is going to be a bloodbath, especially with the auto production shutdowns. Dealer lots today loo very empty, rental cars are hard to find, and personal vehicles have a higher average number of miles on them, all the while delivery vehicles aren't getting any younger or used less in the meantime.

It's almost like the most slack and flexibility right now is in the air network.

Specifically, Amazon Air is used if the last mile is Amazon Logistics or USPS. If it is UPS then it goes via UPS from end to end.

In Long Island, NY, all of our Amazon now comes from TBA. All of it. Used to be almost all USPS last-mile, then it was 50/50, now it's all Amazon Logistics.

In Manhattan, in the last few months I'm getting Lasership for the next-day stuff and a good deal of TBA now. It used to be virtually-all USPS and an occasional Lasership. In the past 3 months, I got one UPS for a package from California.

I suspect USPS will nevertheless be busy with Amazon work during Peak. They do a very-good job on LI and in NYC.

This is all using Prime. Dunno what it would be if I wasn't a Prime member.

For what it's worth, I ordered an auto part from Pelican Parts in California the other day, coming to Long Island. I requested Priority Mail 2-3 day service. It left Pelican the afternoon of the first day, and was in my mailbox in the morning two days later. There was a time during Covid that anything passing through the USPS LA facility (as this did) was hung up for days. Looks like USPS has it sorted out, now. I mostly order from RockAuto, and when I have used USPS as the shipping option the last few times, Priority Mail has delivered from Texas and from Connecticut to Long Island also in 2 days. (I have an older car that I'm determined to keep as long as a DC-9, and I buy a lot of parts online, which saves enormous $$.)

Speaking of regional carriers, I don't think we have gotten any Amazon shipments via OnTrac since 2018. Could they be the next carrier to cut ties with Amazon after FedEx left?

USAirKid wrote:

Bloomberg recently published Amazon Delivery Partners Rage Against the Machines: ‘We Were Treated Like Robots’.

It's fascinating how much control Amazon has over their DSPs, down to being able to fire employees. There also is a fair bit of discussion from how things are managed algorithmically from Seattle.

I find this fascinating that Amazon has essentially adopted the FedEx Ground model, although they periodically remove FedEx Ground from seller fulfilled prime. (Not that I blame them, I had a Kroger package from Cincinnati, Ohio to Seattle, Washington that went via FedEx Ground. FedEx originally said it'd be delivered on Thursday, then they said it would be Friday. It finally arrived on Tuesday. To top it off, the tracking and promised delivery date was really mediocre.)

I'm curious if Amazon would ever consider the model that the US3 have considered: owning a few of the DSPs, both as a learning and bargaining tool. (DL owns Endeavor Air. AA owns Piedmont, Envoy, and PSA. UA's situation on this is weird and murky given their contract with their FAs.) Besides air and truck transportation Amazon runs their own operation with their own employees, this means they get both feedback on the operation as well as the ability to promote within, which gives them people that understand the operation. Amazon is a good at managing vendors, but I'd suggest some of their best vendors are the ones that already were in and understand their businesses.

Anecdotally in Seattle, I've seen fewer packages fulfilled by Amazon in the last mile. They seem to be leaning on UPS and USPS a bit more than in the past, I'm wondering if this is due to capacity issues in with DSPs and Flex.

Too bad FedEx doesn't exert a little more control over their Ground contractors. Too often something goes wrong and the company just shrugs and says "not a FedEx employee." There's little accountability.

1337Delta764 wrote:

Speaking of regional carriers, I don't think we have gotten any Amazon shipments via OnTrac since 2018. Could they be the next carrier to cut ties with Amazon after FedEx left?

I've received a handful of OnTrac over the past few months. They are still doing their thing, but it may be that the volume is so large overall that the delivery side is more diluted with other carriers, and it may be a regional thing where specific DSPs have carved out their own little areas.

HPRamper wrote:

1337Delta764 wrote:

Speaking of regional carriers, I don't think we have gotten any Amazon shipments via OnTrac since 2018. Could they be the next carrier to cut ties with Amazon after FedEx left?

I've received a handful of OnTrac over the past few months. They are still doing their thing, but it may be that the volume is so large overall that the delivery side is more diluted with other carriers, and it may be a regional thing where specific DSPs have carved out their own little areas.

I have gotten OnTrac packages from other retailers (Home Depot, Vitacost, and for my mom, Zulily). Vitacost uses OnTrac almost exclusively for my ZIP code, and if shipping from California Home Depot always seems to use OnTrac (otherwise mostly UPS with occasional FedEx).

This is an aviation forum. Please discuss the ground side of Amazon in non-av.

lightsaber wrote:

This is an aviation forum. Please discuss the ground side of Amazon in non-av.

Its a shame to split Amazon's logistics up into exclusively ground and exclusively air. We haven't done that in the several years this thread has been going.

That being said, is there an existing thread for the ground side of Amazon?

lightsaber wrote:

This is an aviation forum. Please discuss the ground side of Amazon in non-av.

Except their air ops are tied into their ground ops...

Guys, don't argue with the Mods. It's a no-win situation. Especially the one in question, who is generally pretty-tolerant of us, and participates here as well.

Just include an aviation-related observation in your posts, and we'll stay on the good side of the Mods. I doubt they often get complaints about this thread, because we're generally very civil and we put forth great information. They're not going to be so anal as to screw it up for us and A.net over a technicality as long as we're basically-compliant.

wjcandee wrote:

Guys, don't argue with the Mods. It's a no-win situation. Especially the one in question, who is generally pretty-tolerant of us, and participates here as well.

Just include an aviation-related observation in your posts, and we'll stay on the good side of the Mods. I doubt they often get complaints about this thread, because we're generally very civil and we put forth great information. They're not going to be so anal as to screw it up for us and A.net over a technicality as long as we're basically-compliant.

This. Just make sure that your post ties into aviation and all should be good. Personally, I love this thread and typically pop in a few times a week to catch up.

For me, I live in one of the rare places in the country where Amazon doesn't do last mile deliveries and it creates an absolute randomness of shipping. Mostly USPS that utilizes the Prime Air network amd some random UPS stuff that goes through the air hub in Louisville. I'm looking forward to Amazon's push into smaller aircraft and how they have an ability to lesson their reliance on UPS in smaller markets, especially around peak times.

tys777 wrote:

I'm looking forward to Amazon's push into smaller aircraft and how they have an ability to lesson their reliance on UPS in smaller markets, especially around peak times.

First, thank you!

Second, I couldn't agree more. And this will be enabled really by the CVG hub when it gets truly-rolling. I'm intrigued that they're thinking, if I read the media on this correctly, of being at 12 aircraft a day by December. That's less than they're handling at ILN. So it feels like they're determined to wring the bugs out before moving towards the kind of throughput that will support air service to even-more-remote destinations. Their organic air operation proved its merits during the covid surge, and it seems like its success is breeding the idea of expanding it beyond the wildest dreams of those who envisioned it just a few years ago. Remember when 40 767s seemed like an amazing number for them to be undertaking? How far we have come.

I should have posted this earlier, but if CVG will be able to process a million packages a day, that only works out to 1 package per person for the whole US. That somehow seems low to me, but I have struggled to get my head around just how the Amazon Prime fits into the larger delivery system. The facility at the north end of Bremerton National (no air service I am pretty sure - LOL) probably does 80% of the deliveries to our condo.