DoorDash is expanding its partnership with Alphabet's Wing to bring drone delivery pilots to the United States, the company announced Thursday. Select customers in Christiansburg, VA will be able to order eligible menu items at their local Wendy's. DoorDash first launched its drone delivery pilot program in Australia in 2022 and currently operates drone deliveries with more than 60 merchants.
DoorDash users near the Wendy's at 2355 N. Franklin Street will see a new delivery option on their checkout page. Once you select the drone option, your order will be prepared and delivered by a Wing drone within 30 minutes.
Image credit: DoorDash
The company told TechCrunch that for drone deliveries to take place, there must be a small open space, about 2 meters in diameter, within the premises of the address for the deliveries to take place. DoorDash points out that driveways that are free of obstacles like trees and projections are the best landing spots for deliveries.
Most Wendy's products are eligible for drone delivery, but some items are excluded if they exceed volume and weight limits. If your order contains more than a single drone can carry, DoorDash will deploy up to three drones to deliver your order. If you require a larger order, your order will be delivered by a courier as usual.
The launch of the U.S. pilot comes after Alphabet has been running small-scale deliveries in Christiansburg since 2019. DoorDash plans to test the service in other U.S. cities later this year.
“We are committed to providing more efficient, sustainable and convenient delivery options to consumers, and we are optimistic about the value that drone delivery will bring to our platform,” DoorDash Labs senior director Harrison Shih said in a press release. “There is,” he said.
Wing has partnerships with other U.S. companies including Walmart and Walgreens. The company has so far made over 350,000 deliveries in three countries.