Delta Cargo to offer nationwide door-to-door parcel delivery

Group partners with Roadie to become the first US passenger airline to offer same-day parcel delivery across the US, although pick-ups only currently available for shipments originating from Atlanta.

US air freight carrier Delta Cargo is to offer nationwide door-to-door parcel delivery, partnering with the ‘crowd-sourced’ delivery service with Roadie to become the first US passenger airline to offer same-day door-to-door parcel delivery across the US.

Delta Cargo said its ‘DASH Door-to-Door’ product “pairs TSA-approved drivers with air cargo to create the fastest cross-country door-to-door service available in the US, with competitive prices”, adding: “Shipping a parcel from your own front door could not be easier as Delta Cargo partners with Roadie, an Atlanta-based same-day delivery service, to launch DASH Door-to-Door – an industry-first for a US passenger airline.”

The 24/7 pick-up and delivery service is now available from Atlanta to over 55 cities in the United States, with the companies planning to expand the service to dozens more cities before the end of the year. The DASH Door-to-Door product is for packages less than 100lbs (45 kg) and less than 90 linear inches (2.3 metres) and is available to all customers, Delta said. However, TSA ‘Known Shipper’ status is required to ship packages over 16oz (0.45kg), although it said “a streamlined registration is available directly”. It added that DASH Door-to-Door had a limited money back service guarantee.

Delta said DASH Door-to-Door was created for time-critical shipments in industries including medical, manufacturing, automotive, industrial parts and more, adding: “When booking DASH Door-to-Door, customers can easily get a dynamic price quote, with a single booking for flights with pick-up/delivery, as well as end-to-end tracking and real-time status updates to provide customers with full peace of mind throughout the parcel journey.”

Matt Weisenburg, Delta’s director for cargo strategy and alliances, said: “The launch of DASH Door-to-Door is a game changer for Delta Cargo, as anyone who needs to get a small parcel somewhere urgently can now have a same-day delivery, door-to-door service in the U.S., without having to travel to the airport. We have been working with Roadie since 2015 on the passenger side of the business and have seen great customer satisfaction with the transparency and quality of the service. So, we wanted to continue this momentum and bring this innovative product offering to our cargo customers.”

With more than 150,000 verified drivers nationwide, Delta said Roadie already “has the largest local same-day delivery footprint in the nation and reaches 89% of all US households”. Expanding that same-day footprint coast-to-coast is the next milestone in the company’s growth.

“Customers want what they want when they want it,” said Marc Gorlin, founder and CEO of Roadie. “This partnership means we can deliver – whether it’s across town or across the country. Roadie was first to market with an ‘on-the-way’ delivery service utilizing excess capacity in passenger vehicles already on the road. Expanding our model into the belly of a 737 is just the latest step in realizing our vision to make same-day delivery faster, more efficient and more sustainable.”

Matthew Piercy, technical service manager for customer RONCHI America, said: “We have used the DASH Door-to-Door Service several times now and plan to use it more often for critical same-day delivery of critical parts shipments to our customers. Setting up the shipment was simple. The feature is amazing: select the flight, select the Door-to-Door option, receive a package pickup schedule and the driver picks up the package at your location and just hours later our customer is up and running again.”

Since 2015, Roadie has been servicing Delta and its customers by expediting the delivery of delayed baggage, without sacrificing its high level of service for Delta customers. Since then, Roadie has expanded its service from 12 cities in 2016 to more than 70 this year, in major metros like San Francisco to smaller markets like Fort Lauderdale.

DASH Door-to-Door cannot be booked for Live Animals, Dangerous Goods, Human Remains or shipments containing cash or currency. DASH Door-to-Door is a domestic product and is restricted to shipments on Delta mainline and Delta Connection flights. Pick-up service is only available for shipments originating from Atlanta, GA (ATL), with delivery service available to 56 US airports.

Source: Lloyd’s