An Analysis of Amazon Air's Network in the United States

Using data on 12 months of operations, Amazon Air's network is contrasted to the domestic networks of FedEx Express and UPS Airlines. Amazon Air has a lower network density than the other two airlines, and its geography is more strongly related to Amazon's distribution centers. Like UPS and FedEx, Amazon has placed its main hub at a location in the central United States: first Wilmington, Ohio and more recently Cincinnati. The acceleration of online retail trade since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic may encourage other digitally native or incumbent retail firms to develop their own air distribution networks. The criteria that distinguish Amazon Air's gateway airports are identified and then those criteria are applied to all public US airports to detect others that might be suitable for incorporation into a retail distribution air network.