In recent years, the e-commerce industry has experienced explosive growth – if 2022 trends continue, it is expected to be a $1 trillion industry this year alone. With this industry explosion, we have observed demand for an efficient and flexible logistics network. Passenger airlines have emerged as an ideal channel for transporting e-commerce packages because of the many benefits they provide to shippers:

• Passenger airlines have substantial ‘belly’ space in their aircraft, which can be effectively used for transporting packages. Passenger airlines have extensive networks of flights, covering virtually every corner of the world – a factor that may be viewed as invaluable for e-commerce businesses that need to ship products to customers across diverse geographic locations. For example, Delta Air Lines offers an extensive network with over 2,500 flights daily across the United States alone.
• Passenger airlines operate on set schedules, often with multiple flights to the same destination each day – this frequency and speed may align well with the needs of e-commerce businesses, which aim to deliver goods to customers as quickly as possible. Additionally, many airport locations align with the population density that many e-commerce companies are already selling to, so there is a natural synergy to using passenger air lines for e-commerce.
• E-commerce businesses can also benefit from the advanced tracking milestones that already exist for air cargo. This offers e-commerce businesses better visibility into their supply chain, allowing them to provide customers with more accurate delivery estimates.

Passenger airlines can offer an effective solution for the growing delivery demands of the e-commerce industry. By leveraging existing cargo space on passenger flights, e-commerce businesses may achieve faster, more widespread, and cost-effective delivery. As e-commerce continues to thrive, we expect the synergy between passenger airlines and e-commerce to strengthen even further.

The opinions expressed by the author are solely their opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Delta or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents, or representatives. The opinions expressed are based upon information the author considers reliable, but neither Delta nor its affiliates warrant its completeness or accuracy, and it should not be relied upon as such.