Drone delivery service Wing celebrates two years since its launch, particularly within the suburb of Logan, Queensland, where in the first eight months of 2021 it delivered more than 50,000 deliveries.
“Logan is fast cementing its place as the drone delivery capital of the world. From Wing’s early days delivering to a small group of customers in two suburbs in 2019, we’re now making thousands of deliveries each week to 19 suburbs, with a combined population of more than 110,000 people,” says Jesse Suskin, Head of Policy and Community Affairs and Wing spokesperson.
Jesse says that across 2019 and 2020, Wing saw an increase of 500 per cent with this growth rate continuing into 2021.
“We completed more deliveries globally in the second quarter of 2021 than in the entire year of 2020,” he says.
“We’ve seen a significant increase in use of our on-demand drone delivery service in South East Queensland this year. Wing has already made more than 50,000 deliveries to the Logan community in 2021, with almost 4500 deliveries in a single week, during the most recent Queensland COVID-19 lockdown in early August.”
According to Jesse, many consumers found the service especially useful during lockdowns, and relied on its contactless service to deliver needed products.
In the past year, Wing’s customers in Logan have ordered more than 10,000 cups of fresh barista-made coffee and more than 1000 loaves of bread, 2700 sushi rolls, and 1200 hot chickens.
More than 1700 snack packs were ordered, with the drones keeping break-time interesting for children who had transitioned to remote learning.
Wing explains that once an order has been placed via the Wing mobile app, its drones fly to pick up the package and then climbs to flying altitude before proceeding to deliver the parcel.
Once at the destination, the drone descends to a height of seven metres above the ground and lowers the package to the ground on a tether. The package is automatically released, with no need for the drone to land or be unclipped.
“With celebrations and major events in Queensland being impacted by COVID-19 this year, we’ve also been pleased to be able to help deliver some of the joy of these moments through drone delivery,” says Jesse.
During the lead-up to Easter in 2021, Wing delivered more than 250 chocolate eggs, bunnies, and hot cross bun packs to customers across Logan.
“Earlier this month, as the Ekka was cancelled, we delivered more than 500 showbags, dagwood dogs, fairy floss, and strawberry ice creams to give customers a little taste of Queensland’s favourite show from home,” Jesse says.
Wings services have been expanding beyond the home, with 2021 seeing staff using drones to order food from local businesses to their offices.
“As Wing expands over the next year, we’ll continue to improve our service’s ability to meet the needs of the communities we serve and the local businesses we support,” says Jesse.
“While local businesses currently co-locate with us at our delivery facility, in the coming months we’ll be exploring new delivery models, including co-locating our on-demand drone delivery service with businesses at their premises.”
Wing is a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google’s parent company. It is a drone service that works with local businesses and global partners to deliver food, goods, and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals through drones. Currently, 15 local businesses in Canberra and 11 in Logan are using drone delivery services.
Drone delivery has the potential to reduce road congestion, lower emissions and increase safety through reducing the number of cars on the road.
“In crises such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, our technology can provide access to critical medication, food and other necessities,” says Wing. “It can help limit human-to-human contact, and support local businesses that are suffering from reduced foot traffic and sales.”
For more information, visit www.wing.com/en_au