The Days Of The Old 'Freight Dogs' Are Increasingly Past-Tense

If you thought that you saw too many Prime trucks around the highways and byways of America, it may be time to look skyward.

Amazing Prime Air has been granted a Part 135 ticket ("Part 135 air carrier certificate using unmanned aircraft systems") to start trial operations of drone deliveries... something that has been on their drawing board for years. this allows Amazon to join the ranks of UPS and Alphabet-owned Wing, who have already pioneered some limited FAA approval for their drone delivery aspirations.

Amazon describes their program as, "...a future delivery system from Amazon designed to safely get packages to customers in 30 minutes or less using unmanned aerial vehicles, also called drones. Prime Air has great potential to enhance the services we already provide to millions of customers by providing rapid parcel delivery that will also increase the overall safety and efficiency of the transportation system."

The program is also part of their Sustainability initiatives' to help achieve what they call, 'Shipment Zero' -- the company’s vision to make all Amazon shipments net zero carbon, with 50% of all shipments net zero by 2030.

Vice President of Prime Air, David Carbon, said that, “This certification is an important step forward for Prime Air and indicates the FAA’s confidence in Amazon’s operating and safety procedures for an autonomous drone delivery service that will one day deliver packages to our customers around the world,”  “We will continue to develop and refine our technology to fully integrate delivery drones into the airspace, and work closely with the FAA and other regulators around the world to realize our vision of 30 minute delivery.”

The latest version of their delivery drone was revealed a year ago... with eVTOL capabilities. The plan allows for flights of up to 15 miles, carrying packages that can weigh as much as five pounds -- all on a 30 minute timetable.

FMI: www.amazon.com/primeair