Alaska Airlines restructures Amazon cargo deal but says Airbus freighter flights remain unprofitable

Alaska Airlines and Amazon have renegotiated their air cargo agreement, which involves Alaska operating Airbus freighter aircraft (large cargo-only planes) to transport Amazon packages. Despite the restructuring, Alaska's leadership stated the contract still doesn't generate profit for the airline.

The deal centers on dedicated cargo flights—dedicated planes that carry only packages rather than mixed passenger-and-cargo aircraft. This specialization typically allows higher capacity utilization, but Alaska says the economics of their specific Amazon arrangement don't work financially even after the new terms.

For business professionals in logistics and aviation, this signals that rapid e-commerce growth doesn't automatically translate into sustainable profits for carriers—even with major contracts from Amazon. Companies investing in cargo infrastructure should scrutinize unit economics closely, as volume alone may not cover the fixed costs of dedicated aircraft operations.