Most logistics operators are still delivering a handful of parcels to remote villages using two-tonne vans because that's the only option they've had. But what if a drone could do it faster, cheaper, and with a fraction of the energy? In this episode, Jamie Sands talks to Etienne Louvet, founder and CEO of Iona, about how fixed-wing delivery drones fit into real logistics operations and why multimodal fleet decisions need better tools than a human planner and a spreadsheet.
Etienne explains why flying 20 parcels up to 100km on a 2kW battery beats sending a van down country roads, how Iona's tilt-rotor design solves the cargo volume problem that held back earlier drone trials, and why the real product isn't a drone but a network-as-a-service model that plugs into existing operations. The conversation also covers where UK aviation regulation is falling behind Ireland and the EU, the risk that Google and Amazon will vertically integrate the entire autonomous logistics stack while smaller operators wait for paperwork, and why data accuracy and data sovereignty are prerequisites for any of this to work.
This one's for fleet operators, transport planners, and logistics business owners trying to figure out what multimodal actually looks like in practice, and what they should be doing now to not get left behind.
🔗 Connect with Etienne Louvet: https://www.linkedin.com/in/etiennelouvet/
🔗 Connect with Jamie Sands: https://www.linkedin.com/in/j-sands/
🔗 IONA Website: https://ionadrones.com/
🔗 TwentyForty Website: https://twentyforty.uk/
🔗 TwentyForty on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/twenty-forty/
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