Flying pizzas

Domino’s and Flirtey have teamed up to launch what they believe will be the world’s first commercial pizza-by-drone delivery model. The two companies exhibited the first stage of their partnership with a demonstration of pizza delivery by drone in Auckland, New Zealand, today (25 August 2016).

The demonstration was also attended by New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority and Minister of Transport Simon Bridges.

The demonstration was conducted under Civil Aviation Rules Part 101 and marked a final step in Flirtey’s approval process.

In a statement issued today, the two companies said they plan to expand their partnership with flights to customers’ homes later this year from a “select” (but unspecified) New Zealand store.

As well as demonstrating the ability of the Flirtey drone, today’s demonstration was also a useful dry run for the “state-of-the-art” packaging that retained the temperature and taste of the freshly cooked pizza during the delivery.

As previously reported by Post&Parcel, Domino’s also generated a significant amount of media coverage (which is perhaps the main purpose of the exercise) when it unveiled a land-based delivery robot, called the Domino’s Robotic Unit (DRU).

“Launching the first commercial drone delivery service in the world is a landmark achievement for Flirtey and Domino’s, soon you will be able to order a Flirtey to deliver your pizza on-demand,” said Matt Sweeny, CEO of Flirtey. “New Zealand has the most forward-thinking aviation regulations in the world, and with the new U.S. drone regulations taking effect on Aug. 29, Flirtey is uniquely positioned to bring the same revolutionary Flirtey drone delivery service to partners within the United States.”

Don Meij Group CEO and Managing Director of Domino’s Pizza Enterprises added: “Partnering with Flirtey to revolutionize the delivery experience is an achievement that will set our company apart in the minds of customers and change the way delivery is conducted around the world.”