Delta Air Lines today launched a same-day package delivery service tailored to the medical, legal, and machinery verticals.
Atlanta-based Delta will run the service, called "Dash Critical & Medical," through its Delta Cargo division. In addition to meeting same-day delivery timelines, the Dash service supports real-time tracking with global positioning system (GPS) tags attached to each parcel, Delta said.
The service is available for anyone shipping items less than 1 pound, or for pieces weighing up to 100 pounds tendered by customers who've met the "known shipper" designation from the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Delta said. Customers can tender items up until 45 minutes before scheduled flight departure.
By developing a service that offers high boarding priority and fast transit times, Delta is looking to expand its presence in the lucrative market for express delivery of medical shipments. In July, UPS Inc. said it would expanding its specialty services for international clinical trials and drug research, and in November the transport and logistics giant acquired pharmaceutical logistics specialist Marken.
Delta's Dash Critical & Medical is now available from 10 locations nationwide, including Atlanta; Chicago; Cincinnati; Detroit; LaGuardia (New York); Los Angeles; Memphis, Tenn.; Minneapolis; Rochester, N.Y.; and Seattle with service to 89 mainland U.S. destinations and Hawaii.
