Domino’s Begins Drone Pizza Delivery Tests

Recognising the fact that pizza cannot get into a person’s mouth fast enough, Domino’s is to begin trialling drone delivery of its takeaway food via flying drones in New Zealand. The pizza maker has entered into a partnership with drone company Flirtey to test a drone delivery service later this year, potentially making it the first drone delivery service in the world, beating Amazon Prime Air, which has been in the planning stage for years.

“With the increased number of deliveries we make each year, we were faced with the challenge of ensuring our delivery times continue to decrease and that we strive to offer our customers new and progressive ways of ordering from us,” Don Meij, Domino’s Group chief executive and managing director, told the New Zealand Herald. “Research into different delivery methods led us to Flirtey. Their success within the airborne delivery space has been impressive and it’s something we have wanted to offer our customers.”

“Domino’s is all about providing customers with choice and making customer’s lives easier,” Meij added. “Adding innovation such as drone deliveries means customers can experience cutting-edge technology and the convenience of having their Supreme pizza delivered via air to their door. This is the future.”

Domino’s and Flirtey are taking advantage of new aviation laws that came into effect in New Zealand on 1st August, and Simon Bridges, the country’s Transport Minister, is hoping that other businesses take advantage of the government’s new policy.

“As Transport Minister I have been actively promoting New Zealand as a test bed for new transport technology trials,” Bridges said. “Our enabling laws and regulation means we have the ideal environment to trial all forms of technology.”

“The trial is also a valuable opportunity for the Civil Aviation Authority, who are making sure that appropriate safety precautions are taken,” he added.

Should the trial be successful, Domino’s is planning to roll out drone delivery to Australia, Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Japan, and Germany.