Despite Amazon’s efforts, they are not the first to deliver via drone.
Online retail giant Amazon has been pursuing FAA approval to begin using drones for years, stating that using the unmanned vehicles could help hold delivery costs down and provide faster services. They were given provisional permission to use delivery drones in March of 2015, though the victory was shrouded in restrictions. But even with all of Amazon’s efforts, they were not the first retailers out of the gate with actual drone delivery.
Earlier this month, convenience retailer 7-Eleven Inc. and drone operator Flirtey reportedly made the first Federal Aviation Administration-approved drone delivery to a U.S address in Reno, NV. That July 10th delivery provided Slurpees, donuts, coffee and a chicken sandwich to a Reno family that had placed the order.
And while 7-Eleven is not usually known for their delivery services, the convenience chain does provide online ordering and delivery options through partner companies like Postmates, Tapingo and others, according to Tech Crunch.
While 7-Eleven has yet to announce a formal drone delivery service option, the convenience chain has alluded to future plans for such a service as drone regulations become more formalized, according to 7-Eleven EVP and Chief Merchandising Officer Jesus H. Delgado-Jenkins. He declined to put a specific date on the launch of such a service, citing a shifting regulatory environment.. Delgado-Jenkins said that drone delivery could be particularly attractive to families with children who have urgent need for items like over the counter medicines or milk but cannot easily leave the house.
But the future of widespread drone delivery is still unclear. Earlier this month, the FAA released the finalized operational rules for routine commercial use of drones, the first step towards fully integrating drones into the nation’s airspace. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is expected to put new rules into effect in late August that allow the operation of small, unmanned aircraft in the national airspace, and the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2016, which passed both houses this month, requires the FAA to develop drone delivery rules, and to conduct research on “BVOS” or beyond the visual line of sight flying of drones.
