Hyderabad: Amazon India on Monday launched Amazon Air in the country to further enhance its transportation network and enable faster deliveries to customers. Telangana Industries Minister K T Rama Rao launched the service near the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here in the presence of senior Amazon officials.

Amazon is the first e-commerce company in India to launch a dedicated air cargo network, an Amazon release said. Akhil Saxena, Vice President- Customer Fulfillment (APAC, MENA & LATAM) & WW Customer Service, Amazon said two planes are being operated at present.

He said each plane can carry 20,000 shipments. "We are partnering with third party carrier...Quikjet is the company through which we have leased the plane. They are operating the plane and they are maintaining it for us," he said. Rama Rao affirmed the state government's support to Amazon.

Meanwhile, Amazon had joined the bandwagon of incorporating sports content in its operations last year. According to a report by US-based tech portal, TechCrunch, citing The Information, the e-commerce giant is developing an app dedicated to sports content. The move hints at Amazon's focused action towards investing in Prime Video and live sports content.

The report follows the multinational company's CEO, Andy Jassy referring to live sports as 'a unique asset' at an event in New York. Currently, the technological giant holds the exclusive rights for NFL's Thursday Night Football. It also showcases some Premier League soccer matches and Yankees baseball games, as per TechCrunch. The company recently also launched some talk-shows on sports which are featured on both Prime Video and its ad-supported streaming platform freevee.