has signed an agreement with aerospace technology company Flirtey to order 4 delivery drones, with an option to order an additional 500 aircraft. The agreement marks Mesa becoming the first scheduled airline to launch drone delivery in the U.S.
Mesa and Flirtey are initially focusing on the last-mile food delivery industry, enabling Mesa to expand beyond the global airlines market and into the global food service market. The immediate goal of the partnership is to conduct commercial drone deliveries in the last-mile food and beverage market in the U.S. The parties plan to expand the drone delivery service in the U.S. and New Zealand.
With this agreement, Flirtey, the aircraft designer and manufacturer, is supplying it’s best-in-class technology including the Flirtey Eagle, an electric powered, advanced drone that conducts precision delivery to homes and businesses, and Flirtey’s autonomous software platform that conducts autonomous flight operations, for Mesa to operate commercial drone delivery.
The partnership will prioritize operational excellence and data collection, enabling rapid expansion with Mesa’s operational experience as a leading regional air carrier with approximately 450 daily departures across the U.S. and Flirtey’s technical experience having conducted over 6,000 drone delivery flights in the U.S. with its technology protected by over 1,000 patents claims issued and pending in the U.S. and worldwide. Flirtey recently expanded production of delivery drones to meet growing demand. Flirtey’s aircraft are made in USA.
Flirtey Eagle Aircraft
“Mesa is excited to partner with Flirtey to become the first scheduled airline to launch drone delivery in the U.S. Drone delivery is a huge market and it’s here now. This is the future of small package last mile delivery,”
said Mesa Chairman and CEO Jonathan Ornstein.
“Flirtey is excited to partner with Mesa to operationalize our best-in-class drone delivery aircraft and autonomous software platform. With Mesa’s operational excellence, we look forward to rapidly expanding drone delivery focusing on the trillion dollar last-mile food delivery market,”
said Flirtey Founder and CEO Matthew Sweeny.
About Mesa Air Group, Inc.
Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Mesa Air Group, Inc. is the holding company of Mesa Airlines, a regional air carrier providing scheduled passenger service to 114 cities in 39 states, the District of Columbia, the Bahamas, Canada, and Mexico as well as cargo services out of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. As of January 31st, 2021, Mesa operated a fleet of 160 aircraft with approximately 393 daily departures and 3,700 employees. Mesa operates all of its flights as either American Eagle, United Express, or DHL Express flights pursuant to the terms of capacity purchase agreements entered into with American Airlines, Inc., United Airlines, Inc., and DHL.
Source: Press Release