Logan, Queensland is home to many titles but one you probably wouldn’t think of is ‘drone delivery capital of the world’. Well, it’s true according to Alphabet’s drone company Wing which has delivered more than 50,000 orders via drone to the area since the start of 2021.
Alphabet, also known as the parent company behind Google, launched Wing in just two Logan suburbs in 2019. That’s quickly ballooned in the past two years thanks to lockdowns and more people working from home.
In the most recent Queensland lockdown, Wing made almost 4,500 deliveries in a single week to those in the Logan area.
“We heard from a number of customers that they found on-demand drone delivery especially useful as they stayed home, and relied on our contactless service to deliver the things they needed,” said a Wing spokesperson.
Wing’s drones are about 1.5 metres in wingspan, can carry up to 1.5 kg and fly at speeds of up to 110 km/h.
Drone delivery is something giants like Amazon have been promising for years, but who would’ve thought a small town in Queensland would quietly become one of the biggest homes for UAV deliveries.
What are people ordering via drone?
As someone who just learned drone deliveries are really a thing, I have to wonder what exactly are these people ordering?
According to Wing, a hell of a lot of hot chooks.
Wing said its customers in Logan had ordered more than 10,000 cups of fresh barista-made coffee, over 1000 loaves of bread, 1700 snack packs, more than 2700 sushi rolls, and 1200 hot roasted chickens in the past year.
I’m in awe that a drone could fly a cup of coffee around without it spilling absolutely everywhere, but after 10,000 deliveries I guess they’re pretty good at it.
Drone delivery also came in handy during special occasions, with Wing saying it delivered 250 chocolate eggs, chocolate bunnies, and hot cross bun packs to customers in Logan for Easter.
Wing even clocked a record 2 minute and 47 second delivery from order to drop-off, which is a hell of a lot quicker than Australia Post.
How does it work and who can order with Wing?
As these statistics show, Wing has grown massively since its launch in Australia but it’s still not available everywhere. In fact, Wing is only operating in three countries right now — Australia, Finland and the United States.
If you’re keen to give it a go, those located in Logan and Canberra can order from a variety of retailers and restaurants via the Wing app.
Once the drone has picked up your package, it will fly to your delivery area and release its payload without even having to land!
Drone delivery is fast, eco-friendly and just downright cool so definitely give it a shot if you’re in one of the service areas. Hopefully one day Wing can deliver to us all.