American pizza restaurant chain Domino's has made the world's first pizza delivery by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), more commonly known as a drone.
Domino's has its presence in more than 80 countries and it is one of the largest franchised pizza chains in the world. The delivery model of the pizza chain is well-known by customers and the company has found a new way of quickly delivering pizza to foodaholics.
On Tuesday, Flirtey and Domino's made a joint announcement that they have made the first delivery of pizza by a drone in New Zealand. The drone delivery service is currently limited only to some select customers; however, the two companies are planning to expand such service to more customers soon.
Flirtey's drone delivery service and safety technology helps in precise, efficient and safe deliveries of Domino's pizza from store to customers. Flirtey is able to complete a pizza delivery by drone in a number of weather conditions as well as suburban paths.
"We are moving closer and closer to widespread store-to-door drone delivery," said Matthew Sweeny, CEO of Flirtey. "To conduct these deliveries in an urban environment while delivering a hot, fresh pizza, is a validation of our delivery system that assures Flirtey is prepared for mass market deliveries around the globe."
Don Meij, the Managing Director and CEO of Domino's, says that the company invested in the technology and partnership with Flirtey as drone delivery is expected to become major part of deliveries in the near term. Meij added that with drone delivery, the company wants to ensure fresh, hot and timely deliveries of pizza to suburban customers.
Flirtey did not reveal its plans to expand outside New Zealand to other countries such as the United States; however, the company suggests that they are working on getting pizza drone delivery to Americans.
Previous reports have highlighted that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has sanctioned some drone delivery in rural areas of the country. Flirtey conducted an FAA-sanctioned drone delivery of emergency first aid kit, water and food to a house in Hawthorne, Nevada in March this year.
Drones are getting popularity in all parts of the world, but the use of drones is restricted by many governments around the globe. It is likely that drones will start commercial deliveries of various items in the near term but carrying large and fragile items may not be a possibility for drones. Domino's pizzas are light weight; however, the drones may not carry big orders to customers.
