Mesa Air Group has partnered with aerospace tech company and drone manufacturer Flirtey to launch a drone delivery service. The service will initially focus on last-mile food and beverage deliveries in the U.S. with plans to eventually expand to New Zealand where Flirtey is already active. As part of the arrangement, Mesa has signed an agreement with Flirtey for an order of four delivery drones with an option for up to 500 additional aircraft.
“Mesa is excited to partner with Flirtey to become the first scheduled airline to launch drone delivery in the U.S.,” said Mesa Chairman and CEO Jonathan Ornstein. “Drone delivery is a huge market and it’s here now. This is the future of small package last mile delivery.”
Flirtey has previously partnered with organizations and companies including NASA, Johns Hopkins University of Medicine, Remote Area Medical, New Zealand Land Search & Rescue, Domino’s and 7-Eleven. The company reports that it has conducted over 6,000 drone delivery flights to in the U.S. to date. Regional air carrier Mesa currently operates approximately 450 flights a day across the country.
