Flytrex, on Thursday, unveiled Autonomous Pickup, the newest capability allowing for a fully autonomous delivery process — from order placement, to pick-up, through delivery to customers’ yards. By cutting delivery time significantly, to roughly five minutes from the time orders are ready, this new innovation is creating new growth opportunities for major quick serve restaurants (QSRs) and family-owned restaurants.
With Autonomous Pickup, Flytrex drones can pick up orders from restaurants and retailers via dropdown wire and fly directly to customers’ homes to deliver the goods, removing the human component from the delivery process.
Several of Flytrex’s restaurant and retailer affiliates have already partnered with the company to realize this vision of a fully autonomous delivery process, including Unilever’s The Ice Cream Shop, Papa Johns, Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers, and Little Caesars, among others.
For the past few years, technology has helped make the rapid delivery business an appealing market for all. Yet high fees charged by third-party delivery services to both customers and business partners have turned a convenience into a splurge. Removing the middleperson from this equation allows for more affordable, efficient and sustainable delivery for all.
“This announcement is a testament to Flytrex’s continued commitment to a future of ultrafast delivery for everyone,” said Yariv Bash, CEO and Co-Founder of Flytrex. “What’s so unique about this innovation is its real potential to move the needle, with more and more businesses getting on board with an undeniably seamless and cost-effective process. This upgrade is a huge step forward in achieving our vision to provide drone delivery to the millions of residents across suburban America.”
The introduction of this industry-changing innovation comes on the heels of a period of significant growth for Flytrex. Through the expansion of their services in 2022, Flytrex’s eligible customer base grew exponentially, from 40,000 eligible customers to 95,000 – a 138% increase. Flytrex is fully operational seven days a week and executes hundreds of deliveries a day via drone.
Since launching the world’s first autonomous drone delivery system in Reykjavik, Iceland in 2017, Flytrex has been working closely with regulators to get drone delivery off the ground. The company participated in the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP), which concluded in October 2020, as well as the FAA’s subsequent initiative, BEYOND. In January 2023, Flytrex’s longtime partner Causey Aviation Unmanned was granted Standard Part 135 Air Carrier Certification from the FAA allowing it to operate and complete long-range on-demand commercial drone deliveries in the United States.
