Amazon is in talks to lease 20 Boeing 767 jets to launch its own air cargo capacity, according to The Seattle Times. The move could potentially cut expenses and make it less likely that shipping delays will cause Amazon to miss delivery guarantees during the holiday season. 

A senior aircraft-leasing company executive familiar with company’s plans told the newspaper that Amazon has approached several cargo-aircraft lessors to line up the planes. Amazon has been experimenting with handling its own air cargo from a Wilmington, Ohio hub using five 767s flown by a contract carrier, but the move to lease its own plans constitutes a much larger logistics investment expected to take effect by the end of January.  

Amazon recently purchased thousands of its own trailers for transport between warehouse and sortation centers (see “Amazon Buying Thousands of Trailers”), a move that further amplifies its logistics capacity.  Coupled with the company’s massive investment in distribution centers and sortation facilities, Amazon is building one of the largest logistics networks in the country, a potentially insurmountable advantage vs. its online competitors.