A few months after ending its drone-based delivery program, Prime Air, in California, Amazon says that it’s begun making deliveries to select customers via drone in Phoenix, Arizona.
Starting today, Amazon customers in the West Valley Phoenix Metro Area have access to a drone-deliverable selection from Amazon’s catalog, including household, beauty, office, health, and tech supplies. Products must weigh 5 pounds or less to be eligible; Amazon says about 50,000 are available at launch.
Customers can choose the drone delivery location for their address before they check out. Most can expect to receive items in an hour max, according to Amazon, delivered direct from the take-off site in Tolleson.
An Amazon spokesperson told TechCrunch that drone delivery will be available during the daylight hours and favorable weather conditions. “Currently we do not offer drone delivery at night, during heavy winds, or during heavy rain,” they added. “Customers in designated delivery area within a radius of our site can get a drone delivery. We’ll inform customers when drone delivery is live in their area.”
Amazon’s using its latest drone for deliveries, the MK30, which was recently approved by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly beyond the visual line of sight of drone operators. Amazon claims the MK30 can fly twice as far as its previous drone, is about 50% quieter to the human ear, and is built to fly in rainy weather.
Amazon’s also using the MK30 to make deliveries in College Station, Texas, where the the company has been testing prescription deliveries for the better part of this year.
Amazon’s drone delivery efforts have faced a number of setbacks, from complaints over noise to regulatory hurdles and layoffs. Widespread cost-cutting efforts by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has also stymied the service’s progress.
To set the stage for easier — and presumably less expensive — deployments, Amazon says it’s now integrating its drone systems into its same-day delivery network instead of building standalone facilities.
