Hill said Zipline drones can only fly up to 300 feet from the ground. (Courtesy Zipline) (Courtesy Zipline Drone Delivery)
Zipline Drone Delivery launched the first Houston-area flight in Cypress with plans to expand to more Houston neighborhoods in the coming weeks, per an April 29 news release.
Community Engagement Lead Zach Hill said while Zipline's first focus is to deliver food and groceries in partnership with local businesses, the company will soon expand its services to aid the health care system in Houston.
What you need to know
As of April 29, 5,000 select Houstonians have access to Zipline services delivering groceries, meals and retail items, per the release. Utilizing the Zipline app, officials said select Houstonians can order from the following local businesses:
Chipotle
Anothai Cuisine
Boba Smoothies
Andaluz
Rudy's Restaurant Taqueria
BigStack Burger
D'Cuba Soy Restaurant
Tandoori Kabob House
Cheatcode Lemonade and Smoothie Bar
To sign up, customers can download the Zipline app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store and create an account. Deliveries can be made as fast as 85 seconds.
Andaluz is among several local eateries participating in the launch of Zipline Drone Delivery. (Jovanna Aguilar/Community Impact)
“As we start to serve Houston, First Flight members will also have the opportunity to give us direct feedback on what works, what doesn’t, and how we can improve our service before we scale across the greater Houston area,” officials said in the release.
Per the release, First Flight customers will receive $10 off for the first three deliveries and no service or delivery fees.
The impact
Over the past year, Zipline has operated in over 20 municipalities across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, making hundreds of thousands of deliveries to homes, courtyards, offices, universities, town squares, parks and flown over 130 million commercial miles, according to the release.
Hill said Zipline first launched in 2014 to deliver blood to rural areas, saving over 10,000 lives annually as a result. Further advancing health care responsiveness, the company is licensed to deliver prescriptions in Texas. However, Hill said Zipline is working to get further regulatory approval from local officials.
Hill said Memorial Hermann will be the first health care provider in Houston to deploy Zipline’s instant home delivery service beginning in 2026.
