Amazon has launched Amazon Air, its devoted air cargo fleet, in India because the e-commerce big bulks up its logistics infrastructure in the important thing abroad market the place it has deployed over $6.5 billion.

The retailer has partnered with the Bengaluru-based cargo airline Quikjet to launch its maiden air freight service within the nation, which it stated will allow the agency to hurry up its supply. Amazon is using the Boeing 737-800 for the service.

Amazon launched Air in the U.S. in 2016 with over three dozen Boeing freighter aircrafts. It additionally briefly examined this system within the U.Okay. India is the third market the place Amazon has launched its freight service. (Amazon calls its air freight service Amazon Air, however confusingly nonetheless makes use of the Prime Air moniker on the airplane even because the latter unit now appears to be like at drone deliveries.)

The transfer follows Amazon opening up its transportation and logistics network to third-party merchants, companies and direct-to-consumer manufacturers within the nation late final yr.

“Amazon India uses its own services for delivery of around 80-85% of orders and has opened up its delivery arm to others sellers. Delivery itself is a business which can achieve massive scale in India. So it makes sense for them to start this in India,” stated Satish Meena, an impartial analyst who tracks e-commerce sector within the nation.

India is likely one of the key abroad markets for Amazon. But the corporate is lagging behind its chief rival, Walmart-backed Flipkart, within the nation. Amazon has struggled to make inroads in smaller cities and cities in India, analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein stated final yr.

The firm additionally shut down a minimum of three enterprise items – wholesale distribution Amazon Distribution, food delivery Amazon Food and learning platform Academy — in India final yr.

(This is creating story.)