"Selling books to selling computing on demand... That was a big leap, and the most profit generating "pivot" I can think of."
is it a pivot if that was the intention from the start?
is it a pivot if that was the intention from the start?
Marketplaces (White labeling it's shopping market) AWS (Digital Infrastucture) Shipping/Transport (FBA (Fulfillment) first, now SWA (Shipping))
It also leverages revenue streams, to open new markets:
Prime Shipping -> Prime Video/Music, Pantry
That doesn't even include Fire/FireTv/Alexa ecosystem plays.
They have been playing for keeps while others inch along with incrementalism.
Let's hope that it decides to offset the cost of all those planes hauling its boxes around the country by selling tickets to paying passengers.
It could be Spirit Airlines, but without the terrible customer service, terrible conditions, and nickel-and-diming of its customers. All we want is a safe, reliable, solid, FAIRLY PRICED airline ticket.
Do you hear me, Jeff? Hello? Is this thing on?
Also, conventional wisdom is to not fly Spirit if you're of average height or above.
Their seat pitch is truly awful.
I don't know how accurate this is, but a private jet pilot I was sitting next to on a flight told me that excess passenger airline baggage space was already being used to ship packages. If that's true, then baggage fees make a lot of sense. Passengers would be competing with Amazon and other companies for that space.
Cargo remains more profitable than people even today. That's why you can still ship packages via passenger bus. Or at least you could the past time I did it in the early 2000's via Greyhound Package Express.
I'm not saying it Amazon Airlines should look like United, with a couple of hundred people up top and all the cargo down below. But maybe add 50 or 60 seats in a space in front.
One of the problems with cargo is that it's so ephemeral. A plane on a particular route can be full of packages at Christmas, and then half empty the rest of the year. This is exactly the sort of problem that Amazon seems good at solving.
Maybe make the passenger compartment modular. Add more seat modules when cargo loads are low. Add more cargo pods when demand is high.
If anyone can make it work, it's Amazon.
And that's before accounting for scheduling. Freight flights are often late nights, because cardboard boxes don't have eyes that can go red.
The airlines cry that it's low margin, then report billions in profits. Someone should call them out on it.
AA, for example, reported $10 BILLION in profit in 2015 and 2016 combined.
Yet legroom gets smaller because it can't make any money.
In fact, the bankruptcy is part of why they are doing well now. It allowed them a free pass to invalidate all union contracts and start over with lots of leverage.
I think that qualifies as low margin.
And remember, we're talking profit here, not income. I can't think of a scenario where a business with millions of paying customers would sneer at merely making a profit of $150 off of each one.
The RMS in RMS Titanic stands for Royal Mail Ship. A similar designation.
http://www.se-radio.net/2006/12/episode-40-interview-werner-...
But, I don't think amazon of the 90s "planned" on aws in any meaningful way.