In the coming weeks, Wing will begin delivering goods to residents of Helsinki, Finland. It’s a pilot we’re conducting in the city’s Vuosaari district, delivering fresh Finnish pastries, meatballs for two, and a range of other meals and snacks within minutes, via Wing aircraft.
Vuosaari is an inspiring locale for Wing in several ways. Helsinki’s most populous district, it is bordered by water on three sides, with significant forestland alongside residential areas and a large international cargo port. The density of Vuosaari’s population makes it a great place to launch our first service to multi-family housing communities as well.
Wing has hosted several community events in Vuosaari so that local residents could ask questions about our service and provide thoughts on how Wing might fit into their lives, and we’ll be holding several more in the coming weeks. Residents have asked smart questions about our aircraft, and provided a range of thoughts on how air delivery could improve their lives. Most residents we’ve heard from say they’re interested in using Wing to order dinner or groceries.
We hope they’ll love our first two partners: Herkku Food Market, a gourmet supermarket where Wing users can order lasagna for two, a chicken caesar salad, or a classic home movie combo of popcorn, candy and soda. Cafe Monami is a local Vuosaari favorite, and offers items ranging from a salmon sandwich, to a Portuguese sweet pastel de nata.
Helsinki’s vision is to be the world’s most functional city. In pursuing this vision, it seeks to create the best conditions possible for urban life for its residents and for visitors. Our pilot coincides with a city-wide initiative to create a public transportation system so affordable, reliable, and comprehensive that it renders car ownership virtually obsolete by the year 2025, with the larger goal of creating a more livable, healthy city. Wing complements this effort by offering a faster, more efficient alternative to car delivery, and by reducing car trips to pick up small goods.
Helsinki has been so welcoming over the six months we’ve been on the ground. We ran winter test flights in Teisko, near Tampere, north of Helsinki, to evaluate our fleet’s ability to operate in harsh conditions, and we’ve been working with the local community for months to prepare for launch. Today, we’re excited to make it official: we’ll soon be open for business in one of Europe’s most livable cities. Nähdään pian!
Source: Wing Blog