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Amazon Starts Flexing Muscle in New Space (reuters.com)
A cargo plane emblazoned with "Prime Air" descended from an empty sky at Lehigh Valley International Airport on Tuesday, ninety minutes from the bustle of New York City, loaded with crates of goods during the peak holiday shopping season. From a report on Reuters: It's one of 40 jets leased by Amazon.com Inc for a new cargo service to meet delivery demand from the retail giant's customers. Exclusive payload data reviewed by Reuters and interviews with airport officials around the country show that Prime Air planes are flying nearly full, but with lightweight loads, taking away valued business from FedEx Corp and United Parcel Service Inc. Expanding into transportation, from trucks to planes, is one of Amazon's most important endeavors as it strives to lure new customers with fast shipping while keeping costs under control. The world's largest online retailer is sending more packages, more often, and later in the day to serve its estimated 35 million to more than 50 million U.S. members of Amazon Prime, a service that promises two-day shipping for $99 per year.
Sooner or later Amazon has to start paying dividends...
No, they don't. They just need to keep their share price afloat. Dividends are not a requirement of any company, and there are plenty out there that don't pay them. They are a nice perk, for sure, but not some sort of "you must do this or go out of business".
I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
I live in western Washington state. We've had the Amazon delivery people for quite some time now - and I don't share your rosy opinion of the company's priorities. I think they've saved money by hiring people who wouldn't make the cut for other businesses, on the cheap.
Amazon-delivered packages often end up in puddles or dropped over the front yard fence. We have a big sign saying "please deliver to back door", with an arrow pointing towards the (non-fenced) door maybe 15 feet away... and Amazon drivers have left packages, exposed to the elements, right below that sign. Either they just don't care, or they can't read English (my daughter has interacted with a couple Amazon drivers, and she suspects the latter).
I've never had an issue with FedEx or UPS drivers like that. The only people who seemed as bad as the Amazon crew were the USPS folks, back when they were doing Sunday deliveries for Amazon.
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