This post was originally part of our Dallas Flyer email newsletter. You can read other entries here or subscribe to receive future email updates here.

from: Jacob <howdy@wing.com>

to: Wing Early Flyers

date: October 27, 2021

subject: Prepare for takeoff

Walgreens will use Wing’s new platform to fulfill its own store-to-door, on-demand air deliveries

 

This post was originally part of our Dallas Flyer email newsletter. You can read other entries here or subscribe to receive future email updates here.

from: Kendal <howdy@wing.com>

to: Wing Early Flyers

date: October 20, 2021

subject: Hi there (or should we say 'Howdy'?)

We’ve teamed up with leading Australian retail property group Vicinity Centres to launch a drone delivery service from the rooftop of a shopping centre. Check it out:

Last weekend, Wing reached the milestone of 100,000 drone deliveries globally. The growth is fast-paced: the second quarter of 2021 alone saw more drone deliveries than the entire previous year. Finnish consultancy company Gaia Consulting Oy recently conducted a study to determine what drone delivery at scale could mean for a city like Helsinki, and this is what they found: 

This September will mark our second anniversary in Logan, Australia -- a neighbour of Brisbane with a population of 300,000 -- and it’s  been an unprecedented time in more ways than one. Between bushfires of 2019, and the more recent COVID-19 lockdowns, Logan  residents have ordered and received more than 50,000 deliveries directly to their homes by Wing delivery drones.

This weekend marks the start of Wing's third year of operation in Helsinki, with new partners and an expanded selection of products available by air for Helsinki’s most populous district. In addition to grocery items from Alepa, Wing has partnered with Fazer and Crunch Brunch to bring customers a wide selection of lunch items and sweets for summer. 

Pretty great, if they’ve experienced it.

Pollsters have asked the public in the U.S. and Europe for their attitudes toward drone delivery a number of times in the past ten years. While the results of the surveys vary--support for drone delivery ranging from 23%¹ to 50%² -- all of them have one thing in common: they were conducted among respondents who had never seen, much less received, anything delivered by a drone. Today, researchers at Virginia Tech published the results of the first survey conducted among residents in a city with an active drone delivery service, and the results are quite interesting.

For our customers in Logan & Canberra in Australia, Southwest Virginia in the United States, and Helsinki in Finland, drone delivery has become a regular part of the routine over the past few years. However, for those who we’re not yet able to deliver to, we receive lots of really clever and curious questions about our service and our technology. Starting today - we’re hoping to lift the lid on our service through a new video series called “Ask Wing” -  where we’ll do our best to answer all of your queries. Got something you want answered? Let us know by tagging @Wing on Facebook or Twitter with your question. 

Today, Wing offers drone delivery to homes on three continents. It’s safer, faster, and cleaner than picking up or delivering packages by road. At scale, drone delivery will help to connect our cities, unlock new opportunities for local businesses, and cut road accidents, congestion, and emissions.

Drone technology has the potential to become an important part of Australia’s delivery sector, particularly in fulfilling ‘last-mile’ deliveries. Last-mile delivery is particularly challenging in Australia, where logistics providers face congested city roads at one extreme and sparsely populated countryside at the other. Consumers are doing more of their shopping online, but still face limited delivery options. Drone delivery has the potential to save businesses and consumers in Australia time and money, while also helping to reduce congestion, greenhouse gas emissions and accidents on the road.

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2020 requires no introduction; it was a difficult year for many. And while we're grateful we were able to play a small, supportive role by providing delivery service to our communities, I think we speak for our entire industry when we say that we hope to be able to do more to help in the future. Here are our most optimistic takeaways from the most challenging year we hope any of us ever face, and some hope for a better 2021. 

It's important to know what to expect while you wait for a drone to arrive. 

How Wing drone delivery is helping one Virginia coffee shop cope with the COVID-19 shutdown.

One year ago, we started our first drone deliveries to residents in the Logan community in Queensland, Australia. In a year that has included the devastating bushfire season in Australia, as well as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic across the world, we are grateful for all of the customers and businesses that have embraced our service.

News cameras jostled for position as Christiansburg local Todd Joyce used the Wing app to order popcorn and chocolates on October 18, 2019. He made history when he pressed the order button, becoming one of the first in the United States to use a residential drone delivery service. The scene was mirrored at two other homes that day, as the Sensemeier family and the Passek-Collvers joined the Joyces, simultaneously placing three orders to kick off Wing’s first-of-its-kind trial in Virginia. Once the orders were placed, everyone looked up.

Wing delivery drone No. A1229 -- which helped kick off the first residential drone delivery service in the U.S. -- is making its final journey today to become a part of the collection at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

A year ago, we commenced our first drone delivery trial in Europe. In Vuosaari, in Helsinki’s most populous district, we spent last summer delivering a range of meals and snacks to our first Early Flyers — from salmon salads for weekend lunches, to fresh pastries for people working from home who wanted an afternoon treat.