We have to admit that delivering our pizza via air seemed like a utopian scenario to us. However, Domino's Pizza says it has made it a reality!
The chain said it made its first pizza delivery in New Zealand to a real customer last Wednesday at 11.19am local time. Drone delivery has now been approved by the country's civil aviation authority.
The order was for a peri-peri chicken pizza and a cranberry chicken pizza (odd choice, but OK) and was delivered to a customer in the suburb of Whangaparaoa, 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of Auckland.
Domino's has partnered with drone delivery startup Flirtey for the project. While the manned vehicle was autonomously controlled via GPS navigation, a team of drone experts and a drone pilot oversaw the delivery.
Domino's is set to continue testing drone on its customers this week, as it explores drone delivery in six more markets including Australia, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Japan and Germany.
"We will be conducting more delivery flights to our customers from our Whangaparaoa store this week and will use the information we gather to expand flights to a larger DRU Drone from Flirtey next year," said Domino's Group CEO Don Meij.
For those worried about their jobs, Domino's says the drone delivery service will create additional jobs dealing with navigation.
“We expect the DRU drone from Flirtey to be an essential addition to our fleet. This will really create new jobs. We will make sure to hire additional members to our team, whose roles will be focused on drone preparation and fleet management,” said Meij.
