Amazon Prime Air now officially includes a drone fleet after the online retailer made its first customer delivery by drone. The Cambridgeshire delivery took place near Amazon\u2019s UK drone-testing plant, where the company has been working with the government to test longer-distance deliveries.
\nJeff Bezos, Amazon\u2019s CEO broke the news on twitter today, announcing that his company had made its first commercial drone delivery, on Dec. 7, delivering electronics and popcorn to a customer from a nearby Amazon warehouse. The delivery lasted 13 minutes, and covered about two miles.
\nThe company plans to expand its testing phase to \u201cdozens, of additional customers\u201d in Cambridgeshire county, eventually expanding the service to \u201chundreds more.\u201d The facility is a technologically sophisticated instillation that features a small fulfillment center, and partially automated loading and launching capabilities.
\nAmazon isn\u2019t the first retailer to make headlines with drone deliveries. A collaboration between Flirtey Drone and Domino\u2019s Pizza in New Zealand delivered pizza to a customer last month, and Flirtey has pulled similar stunt in the U.S.
\nWhile tech-companies and retailers push forward, detractors point to impediments that must still be overcome. To start with, U.S. aviation rules currently forbid the sort of delivery Amazon just undertook, due to its violation of \u201cline of sight,\u201d restrictions. Drones are also susceptible to weather restrictions, weight limitations on cargo, and sabotage.
\nU.K. regulators have been more forward-looking that their U.S. counterparts, explaining Amazon\u2019s decision to test there. \u201cThe U.K. is a leader in enabling drone innovation,\u201d said Paul Misener, Amazon\u2019s vice president of global innovation policy and communications. \u201cThis announcement strengthens our partnership with the U.K. and brings Amazon closer to our goal of using drones to safely deliver parcels in 30 minutes to customers in the U.K. and elsewhere around the world.\u201d
\nPresident elect Donald Trump\u2019s choice of Elaine L. Chao as secretary of transportation empowers a Reagan era bureaucrat that was active in an administration known for its deregulation of the aviation industry. Perhaps drone regulations will also fall under the president elect\u2019s promise to excise as many as 70 percent of federal agency regulations. If so, things could get interesting, and potentially messy, fast as business scramble to eliminate costly delivery personnel in favor of flying robots.
\nSource: aircargoworld<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"