Amazon Pilots: On-Time Delivery May Not Happen

Pilots who fly Amazon planes are doubtful the eCommerce giant will deliver packages on time this holiday season.

The union pilots also have concerns about pay, working conditions and staffing shortages, which they have communicated directly to consumers via a digital marketing blitz that suggests Amazon might fail to meet its holiday delivery demand, Bloomberg reported.

“This holiday season, Amazon customers may want to think twice before ordering last-minute deliveries,” the website said.

“Amazon just launched its own airline shipping service, Prime Air, but without the staff or expertise to run its own airline, the company is relying on third-party contracted cargo airlines for deliveries. These contracted Prime Air airlines are facing significant operational disruptions. The airlines don’t have enough pilots to meet the demands of Amazon because their experienced pilots are leaving for better jobs at other airlines,” the statement continued.

The group warns that Amazon is betting big that it will be able to deliver all of its orders in time but that there may not be enough pilots to make this happen. It directs consumers to “give one star for Amazon Prime Air and tell Amazon executives to make sure its contracted pilots have a fair contract to ensure stability and that there are enough qualified pilots to get the job done.”

Union advertisements for the website are running on Facebook and Google, specifically targeting Amazon customers.

As eCommerce continues to dominate the holiday shopping season, any delivery disruption could have significant impacts on Amazon’s ability to make sure orders are delivered on time.

“People are being run ragged because of the pilot shortage,” Bob Kirchner, a captain with Atlas Air, told Bloomberg. “We want everyone to know, and we want the public and Amazon to pressure these companies to sit down with us and do a fair negotiation.”

This year marks the company’s first holiday season since launching Amazon Air Prime, which has the goal of reducing Amazon’s dependence on FedEx and UPS by utilizing its own fleet of about 40 planes.