While email, document sharing platforms and video conferencing mean we can relay information at a quicker rate then ever before, for those of us who just have to get a document to someone in record time there now appears a new solution.

Logistics company DHL has got its hands on a Bell 206 Jet Ranger helicopter for the express purpose, please mind the pun, of transporting important deliveries from hits Heathrow hub to the centre of London.

According to the company, the chopper will “cut the journey time in into Canary Wharf and the City of London by up to one hour”. DHL now has three helicopters doing rapid delivery services, with the other two located in New York and Los Angeles.

Explaining the development, DHL Express Europe CEO John Pearson said: “For the financial and professional services sector in particular, time really is money, so we are always looking for innovative, more efficient ways to move our customers’ shipments.

“With the first ever scheduled delivery service by helicopter in the UK market, we are demonstrating DHL’s commitment to connect UK businesses to global markets and support them in their international trade activities.”

DHL’s helicopter service comes in the midst of a delivery battle being waged by the likes of Amazon, eBay and other high street retailers. From Amazon’s use of drones to deliver packages to far-flung locations to eBay’s acquisition of Shutl – a startup which has a world record delivery from point of purchase to product arrival of under 15 minutes – our on-demand society has led big businesses to come up with big solutions.

Read more about the delivery battle:

• The potential of drones in industrial sectors
• Delivery drones could become the new couriers of the future
• Ecommerce logistics: a fruitful vein of innovation

The helicopter service will see goods and documents arriving on DHL’s daily scheduled flights then arrive in their London location within 20 minutes. 

According to Pearson, existing clients will not be charge extra for the service and the service could soon be seen in cities such as Chicago, Frankfurt and Paris.

So next time you see a DHL helicopter whizzing over your head, competing for air space with news crews and the police, it could just be carrying documents associated with latest mega-merger, startup acquisition or big commercial agreement. Eyes peeled.

By Hunter Ruthven