Brinker, Flytrex Team Up on Drone Delivery
Residents of Holly Springs, North Carolina, can now have their favorite Brinker International virtual brand menu items delivered by drone.
Brinker International and Flytrex have teamed up to deliver food orders via drone to front and backyards in the neighborhood of Forest Springs. Flytrex’s newest service caters to dozens of households in the area who have opted into the service. Flytrex will conduct all flights under Part 107, within visual line of sight, maintaining the highest safety standards.
Wings on the Fly
Customers can order food from It’s Just Wings, Brinker International’s virtual brand available from Chili’s Grill & Bar at the Holly Springs Towne Center via the Flytrex app. The app will update customers regarding their order status along the route until the package is lowered by wire safely into their front or backyards. The service will expand to additional homes and neighborhoods in the coming months.
Flytrex and Brinker, known for its Chili’s Grill & Bar and Maggiano’s Little Italy, are working in partnership with Causey Aviation Unmanned, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), The Town of Holly Springs, and Kite Realty Group Trust.
Soaring Interest in Drone Delivery
Drone deliveries are heating up. Back in December, the FAA issued new rules that require Remote ID of drones and will allow night flights, clearing a hurdle for companies to use drones for delivery. Earlier this year, El Pollo Loco Launched Drone Delivery. And Dragontail Systems, which was acquired by Yum! Brands, has partnered with Valqari to enable drone deliveries.
“The people of Holly Springs pride themselves on embracing new innovations,” said Holly Springs Mayor Dick Sears. “As a Smart Cities Award winner, the Town of Holly Springs has been recognized for being a pioneer in the use of new technology, and our residents are excited to see how Flytrex’s drone delivery service can provide additional benefits to the community.”
Flytrex and Causey Aviation Unmanned are partners in the NCDOT’s BEYOND program, one of nine programs in the country selected by the FAA to pave the way for routine commercial drone use in the National Air Space. North Carolina partners have achieved more national firsts and flown more missions by far than all other teams combined since the FAA launched its integration initiative in 2017.
Holly Springs is the third location in North Carolina in which Flytrex operates. Since September 2020, Flytrex has been operating in Fayetteville, NC – delivering groceries, household items, and restaurant orders to select customers – and has since expanded to the neighboring town of Raeford. In April 2021, the FAA approved the expansion of the Fayetteville service, making it among the largest-scale backyard drone deliveries of goods on record. Since February 2021, the volume of Flytrex orders across its North Carolina operations has increased more than tenfold, with thousands of deliveries to date.
Images courtesy of Flytrex.
