(Recasts with comments from an executive)NEW DELHI/BENGALURU, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc
on Monday launched a dedicated air cargo service in
India, Amazon Air, as it looks to expand and speed-up deliveries
across one of its key markets amid fast-growing e-commerce
sales, an executive said on Monday.The company has invested in Indian cargo carrier Quikjet to
exclusively transport packages for Amazon across four major
Indian cities, Sarah Rhoads, vice president, Amazon Global Air
told Reuters, without specifying the size of the investment.The move to use a dedicated cargo service will give
Amazon tighter control over costs and flight schedules while
reducing delivery times across a wider range of products, said
Rhoads."When we use a dedicated network ... we have more
transparency with the cost, we control the negotiations and we
drive the schedule to make sure we are making the most efficient
use of the assets," she said."We want to deliver the majority of shipments in two days or
less and Amazon Air enables that."India is the third market, after the United States and
Europe, where the company has launched Amazon Air. The
Seattle-headquartered firm, which started the service in 2016 in
the United States, operates a network of more than 110 jets that
fly to over 70 locations worldwide.Quikjet, a Bengaluru-based freight carrier which is a unit
of Europe's ASL Aviation, already operates one plane for Amazon
and from Tuesday will begin its second across cities including
Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. ASL operates several
aircraft for Amazon in Europe, Rhoads said.Rhoads said Amazon, the books-to-boots online retailer which
competes with Walmart Inc-owned Flipkart in India, will
expand its fleet based on the success of its two planes.Amazon, which uses its own ground delivery services for
shipping, also partners with Deutsche Post DHL Group
controlled Blue Dart Express Ltd, one of India's
biggest air cargo carriers.
(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita
Bhattacharjee and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)