Amazon.com is beginning air freight services in India, expanding in Asia even as global online sales growth stalls following a pandemic-era boom.

The e-commerce retail giant will use cargo capacity in a Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by partner Quikjet Cargo Airlines to begin shipments in Hyderabad, Bangalore, New Delhi and Mumbai, said Akhil Saxena, a vice-president of customer fulfilment.

Amazon is trying to sell unused space in its cargo jets, as it adjusts to a post-pandemic slowdown that has forced it to cut 12,000 employees, or about 6 per cent of its workforce. 

Demand for air cargo has cooled, with the sector projected to slow down further this year. The Seattle-based ecommerce company has a fleet of more than 110 planes flying to more than 70 destinations worldwide, Saxena said, speaking at an Amazon Air launch event in Hyderabad, southern India, on Monday (Jan 23). Amazon is offering space on its planes and charter flights, on top of plans to sublet excess warehouse space.

Amazon began its air cargo service in 2016, in what was soon seen as a challenge to United Parcel Service and FedEx. Amazon Air operates out of small regional airports close to its warehouses, helping the company meet orders for one- and two-day delivery. Bloomberg