Amazon has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to operate its delivery drones beyond visual line of sight of the pilot, removing a key roadblock to its eventual goal of deploying aerial fulfillment for Prime customers in less than a half hour.
Amazon Air is projected to have 200 cargo jets in its fleet by 2027 or 2028, bringing it close to parity with UPS if the latter doesn’t expand significantly, according to a study from DePaul University. The study said Amazon Air has grown to 42 planes since its launch in 2016, with plans to expand to 70 by 2021, putting it on par with DHL.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said the company plans to purchase 100,000 electric-powered vans from Detroit startup Rivian Automotive, as it seeks to accomplish two goals in one stroke: Decreasing its carbon footprint and increasing its delivery capabilities.
Major breakthroughs in technology are allowing for the possibility of expedited delivery, higher efficiency, greater accuracy and – most importantly for supply chain logistics – lower costs than ever before. See some predictions for ecommerce logistics in 2017.
An Amazon executive said the company at this point is just using its recent investments in logistics and transportation to handle internal capacity, including servicing sellers using its Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) program where it handles third-party orders. See what else he said about the company’s logistics focus, as well as the status of its drone delivery program.
It’s never a dull moment with Amazon, which won a patent for an airborne FC, sold 1 billion items the last two months and created another shopping holiday. Find out more about these latest developments from the ecommerce behemoth.
As it continues to hit roadblocks in the U.S., Amazon has announced a partnership with the UK government to experiment with drone delivery of small parcels through its Amazon Prime Air unit. Meantime 7-11 has beaten Amazon to the punch, delivering Slurpees and other essential items to a family in Reno, NV in the first U.S. commercial drone delivery.
Walmart asked the FAA to begin testing drones for home delivery, curbside pickup and checking warehouse inventories, joining Amazon and Google in the air.
Google has been quietly conducting drone testing for the past year through a deal with NASA, effectively skirting FAA rules that Amazon has been abiding by.
The FAA said it will allow commercial testing of drones beyond pilot line-of-sight, making drone deliveries by Amazon and Google a bit closer to reality.