BOSTON, Dec. 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Merlin Labs has reached an agreement with
Ameriflight to equip the cargo airline's fleet with autonomous and
semi-autonomous flight capability. By offering access to Merlin's
enhanced technology, the partnership will allow Ameriflight to
capitalize on long-term growth opportunities.
The nation's largest Part 135 cargo airline, Ameriflight
provides regional cargo aircraft services for overnight express
carriers such as UPS, FedEx, and DHL. With this partnership,
Ameriflight will add more experience and capabilities to its
aircraft through Merlin's technology, complementing its current
pilot makeup. Ultimately, Ameriflight hopes to future-proof its
aircraft with early implementation of autonomous capabilities,
ensuring the company will be nearly ready when that form of flying
is industry-approved and allowing for seamless customer
retention.
"We believe Merlin's technology is not only the furthest along,
but also the most applicable to what our customers need," said
Ameriflight President and CEO Paul
Chase. "It will potentially allow us to provide autonomous
or semi-autonomous flight at a cost of added deployability that we
think works best for our customers relative to other options."
Merlin is creating sophisticated software and hardware that
fulfill the functions of a human pilot. The company has flown
hundreds of takeoff-to-touchdown missions, performed thousands of
simulated test hours, and integrated its platform into four
different aircraft types (from single-engine to complex,
multi-engine aircraft). In September, Merlin became the first
company to reach an agreement on an approach for the certification
of aircraft autonomy.
Merlin's "crawl, walk, run" approach to deploying autonomy — and
commitment to safety — resonated with Chase.
"Today, a pilot might come to us with a thousand hours of flight
experience," Chase said. "With the processes that Merlin uses to
certify its technology, we're putting the equivalent of much more
experience into the cockpit on Day One. You don't have this
learning curve that pilots need to go through, and that lowers the
overall risk profile to the airline. That's a win for our pilots,
our customers, and our company."
According to Chase, the industry's pilot shortage is a major
driver for the partnership with Merlin. Finding skilled pilots in
the current environment is difficult enough, he noted.
"That's just a reality for our growing business," Chase said.
"It's imperative that we complement — not replace — our existing
team of fixed wing pilots with autonomous pilots. We have ample
opportunities for growth in front of us with the increased level of
e-commerce, disruptions in the supply chain, et cetera. But we
can't capitalize on that in any significant way unless we solve
this staffing problem in a scalable and cost-effective way."
Another key driver for Ameriflight is cost savings. The
airline's current aircraft are a good fit for its customers when it
comes to size and rate. Updating the existing fleet with
next-generation technology will allow Ameriflight to pair
world-class technology with best-in-class pricing.
"Merlin is designing a solution to allow our existing fleet to
become autonomous rather than requiring us to upgrade our fleet,
which would come at a very high capital cost," Chase said. "By
using the aircraft's existing functionality and enabling us to
update the cockpit and avionics equipment, Merlin is making it
possible to extend fleet life at a relatively affordable cost."
"Having recently announced our first-in-the-world certification
basis, we really have to focus on how to bring our system to the
market in the short term," said Matthew
George, Merlin Co-Founder and CEO. "Partnering with
Ameriflight supports this goal while also giving us a great deal of
credibility in the commercial cargo space."
About Merlin Labs
Founded in 2018, Merlin Labs is headquartered in Boston, with additional offices in
Los Angeles, Denver, Mojave, and New
Zealand. The Google Ventures-backed company is building the
definitive autonomy system for all things that fly. To learn more,
visit www.merlinlabs.com or follow us on Twitter @merlinaero.
About Ameriflight
Ameriflight is the nation's largest
Part 135 cargo airline. Founded in 1968, Ameriflight has grown from
a small air charter and cargo service carrier to an international
operator with 14 bases, 1,500 weekly departures, and 200
destinations. Ameriflight is headquartered in Dallas and has more than 500 employees,
including over 150 pilots, and over 100 aircraft. To learn more,
visit www.ameriflight.com or follow Ameriflight on LinkedIn,
Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/merlin-labs-partners-with-ameriflight-on-autonomous-flight-solutions-301440717.html
SOURCE Merlin Labs