Freightways explore options for NZ drone deliveries
Courier company Freightways is in talks with several unmanned aerial system (UAS) operators as it explores potential future uses for the technology.
Chief executive Mark Troughear wouldn’t disclose the names of any potential partners but did say the company regularly received inquiries from operators looking to enter the New Zealand market.
“Most UAS companies we talk to are looking to provide drone solutions for the ‘last mile delivery’, and a smaller number are looking at autonomous solutions for moving larger quantities of freight.”
Freightways, a publicly-listed company, operated a range of courier brands as well as airfreight services via its subsidiary business, Fieldair.
Fieldair already operated in the UAS space, providing sales and servicing for drones used for agricultural and horticultural spraying.
Troughear said the business was getting certification that would allow it to operate its own drones commercially.
“Fieldair’s main focus, however, is to use its expertise in aircraft maintenance, avionics and composites to lead in the provision of drone maintenance services.”
Asked what kind of solution UAS systems might provide, Troughear said: “There may be applications where urgent items could benefit from a drone delivery to avoid traffic congestion, or in areas where there is particularly low density, and it doesn’t warrant a van driving to a remote area [for] a single delivery.”
It was too early to say whether this would be commercially viable, he added.
For Freightways to use drones or other UAS tech, Troughear said the technology would need to be proven, the regulatory environment would need to be in place and the solution would need to be commercially viable. “Expectation is that this set of prerequisites could be in place within the next decade,” he said.
However, it was more likely that any UAS options would complement existing logistics networks, not replace them.
“As an example, we will always run trucks from provincial cities to our main hubs and operate freighters between those primary hubs, but for a small portion of urgent freight, moving it via a UAS might allow us to connect it to an earlier freighter flight and therefore achieve an earlier delivery time at destination,” Troughear said.
Other companies are already exploring opportunities for drone deliveries in NZ.
In April, economic development agency ChristchurchNZ announced it had partnered with Swoop Aero, an Australian drone logistics company, to design a city-wide urban air logistics network.