It’s pie in the sky for Domino’s as it plans pizza delivery by drone
WELLINGTON, N.Z. — A New Zealand Domino’s pizza chain aims to become the world’s first company to offer a commercial drone delivery service, a milestone in the onceunthinkable quest to save time and money with an airborne supply chain dispensing with people.
Some of the world’s biggest companies including, Amazon and Google, have plans to make deliveries by drone, and aviation authorities in the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand have been relaxing rules to allow air deliveries.
Last month, U.S. convenience store chain 7-Eleven conducted the first single commercial drone delivery — coffee, doughnuts and a chicken sandwich — as part of a trial.
Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd. conducted a demonstration pizza delivery by drone in the New Zealand city of Auckland yesterday, and afterward said it aimed to be the first company to launch a regular drone service late this year.
“We’ve always said that it doesn’t make sense to have a 2-ton machine delivering a 2-kilogram order,” Domino’s Chief Executive Officer Don Meij said in a statement.
With clear skies and small population of 4.4 million, New Zealand last year became one of the world’s first countries to clear commercial drone deliveries.
“Our enabling laws and regulation means we have the ideal environment,” New Zealand Transport Minister Simon Bridges said after the Domino’s test flight.
The Domino’s and 7-Eleven deliveries both used drones provided by U.S.-headquarted Australian drone company Flirtey.
In the United States, drones will be allowed to make deliveries from Aug. 29, but not across state lines or over people.