Amazon Air has undertaken the "first in-service flight" with the first of 10 A330-300P2F (passenger to freighter) aircraft that it has leased for operation by Hawaiian Airlines.
"The Amazon Air Hub teams have been training on the new aircraft, and October 2 marked the first in-service flight for this exciting new addition," said Amazon in a press statement on October 2.
The company added: "These A330s aren't just the first of their kind in our fleet. They’ll also be the newest, largest aircraft for Amazon Air, allowing us to transport more customer packages with each flight."
Lessor Altavair is providing the freighters, which are being converted by Germany-headquartered Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW), a joint venture between Singapore-based ST Engineering and France-headquartered Airbus.
Amazon first announced its deal with Altavair and Hawaiian in October last year.
In July, Hawaiian Airlines confirmed it had received the first of the 10 freighters, which it said it was due to start operating in October.
The agreement with Hawaiian will last for eight years with options to extend for a further two and three years.
Although Amazon continues to expand its fleet, it has recently made some operational changes that may reflect the challenging market conditions for the air cargo industry.
The rollout of the first A330-300F follows Amazon Air's recent announcement that it will close its airfreight facility at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany, its first-ever regional air hub in Europe, by the end of this year.
And in July this year, Amazon Air also confirmed it was reducing the number of flights it carries out in Europe, after rapidly ramping up operations over the last few years.
There have also been fleet reductions in the US.
