Amazon announced Wednesday a major expansion of its drone delivery program that could bring airborne package drops to suburban communities across the country before the end of the year — a move that may eventually reach residents in Colorado Springs and surrounding areas.
Millions more people may be able to get smaller, lightweight Amazon packages delivered by drones by the end of the year under the plan, which would expand airborne shipping to suburban areas in nearly 500 U.S. cities. The expansion would grow Amazon's drone delivery operation more than sixfold nationwide, adding hundreds of new communities including the Chicago, Atlanta, Cleveland, and Boise metro areas.
Customers could receive drone deliveries in as fast as 30 minutes, Amazon said, though the drones are limited to carrying packages up to 5 pounds. The drones will primarily fly in the suburbs, well away from skyscrapers and major airports that could cause operational problems.
The service will be free for Amazon Prime members ordering more than $50 worth of goods, while smaller orders will cost members $2.99. Non-members will pay $4.99 for drone delivery. Analysts have noted that drones could prove especially useful for lightweight deliveries needed urgently, such as prescription medications.
Hundreds of thousands of packages have already been delivered by Amazon drones this year, but even after the expansion, drones will still only handle a fraction of the hundreds of millions of package deliveries made each year. In addition to the 5-pound weight limit, the drones face challenges ranging from tree cover and landscaping to inflatable pools that can make it hard to find a good drop zone, and there are regulatory hurdles to overcome in every community where Amazon wants to set up operations, with noise concerns posing an additional potential challenge.
"It's still an experiment. It's still in test and learn mode," said Sucharita Kodali, a retail analyst with Forrester. Initially, consumers might order something delivered by drone out of curiosity, but it is not clear how often they will continue to use the service, and Amazon is still working out the economics, Kodali said.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told shareholders in his annual letter in April that the company has learned a great deal by flying drones at 11 sites across Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, and Texas, with each location's drones launching from an Amazon warehouse and covering about 175 square miles. "Prime Air now has a design that'll scale, plans to serve communities with 30 million customers by year-end, and expects to deliver half a billion packages by the end of this decade," Jassy wrote.
The plan will intensify the battle between Amazon and Walmart to provide consumers with the fastest delivery times, with both giants relying on a mix of drones and drivers to deliver consumer orders. Walmart said earlier this year that it planned to expand drone delivery service to 150 more stores in partnership with Wing, a division of Alphabet, to reach 270 drone delivery locations by 2027.
Amazon is already certified by the Federal Aviation Administration and has been awarded waivers to fly drones beyond the line of sight of pilots, and the company has invested in safety measures to help drones avoid mid-air collisions. A federal rule that would allow more drone operators to fly beyond the horizon has been proposed but has not yet been finalized.
Whether Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak region will be included among the nearly 500 targeted communities — and when local regulatory approvals might follow — has not yet been confirmed by the company.