In a major milestone, Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW), a joint venture between ST Engineering and Airbus, has successfully delivered an A330F to Amazon Air, which will be operated by Hawaiian Airlines, now owned by Alaska Air.
This is the eighth Airbus A330-300F, which has joined Amazon Air’s fleet. The aircraft, MSN 1245, is 13.6 years old and is registered as N5897K. It was formerly operated by Etihad Airways as a passenger Airbus A330-300. The airline withdrew it from service on September 10, 2018. Afterward, it was acquired by Altavair AirFinance, an asset management firm focused exclusively on commercial aviation assets.
The aircraft was stored at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport from July 6, 2024, to February 27, 2025. The freighter conversion was completed at EFW’s Shanghai facility in January 2025, after which it was delivered to Hawaiian Airlines. It was then ferried from Shanghai Pudong International Airport to Tokyo Narita Airport and finally to Honolulu International Airport on February 27, 2025, according to data from Planespotters.net.
In addition to this aircraft, two more Airbus A330-300Fs are undergoing conversion at Dresden Airport in Germany. These aircraft, registered as N5869K and N5881K, were previously operated by Etihad Airways as Airbus A330-300s. N5869K is 13.8 years old, while N5881K is 14.4 years old, according to data from Planespotters.net.
With this aircraft, Hawaiian Airlines now operates eight Airbus A330Fs for Amazon Air. Amazon Air has a total fleet of 98 aircraft, which mainly consists of Airbus A330-300Fs, Boeing 737-800Fs, and Boeing 767-300Fs, says the data from Planespotters.net.
Alaska had completed the $1.9 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines in September 2024, and taken over the cargo operations for Amazon as part of the merger.
Hawaiian Holdings, the parent company of Hawaiian Airlines, has granted Amazon warrants to acquire up to 15% of its common shares, which can be exercised over the next nine years. This practice is common for Amazon Air, as it has taken a similar approach with other freighter operators, including Air Transport Services Group (ATSG) and Atlas Air Worldwide.
