In some ways, this was not the best week for Amazon. The Federal Trade Commission sued it for improperly billing customers for games used by their children. And it continues to be enmeshed in a nasty public relations battle with the publisher Hachette.
But Amazon still has the drones. In a filing with the Federal Aviation Administration that got widespread attention Friday, Amazon asked for permission to test its drone delivery system outdoors, a practice that is banned for safety reasons.
Never mind for the moment the fact that the F.A.A. said a few weeks ago that there would be no commercial uses of drones in a memo that did not mention Amazon but pointedly excluded even the free shipping of items by drone. That’s a lobbying battle for another day.
Delivery by drone was first mentioned by Amazon last year on “60 Minutes,” and quickly became a viral sensation despite, or because of, the fact that it was unlikely to happen anytime soon. If nothing else, it was a vivid demonstration of Amazon’s gift for showmanship.
In the filing to Michael P. Huerta, the F.A.A. administrator, Amazon said that it should get an exemption from the rules because of the “enormous consumer benefits” of what it is calling Prime Air: getting stuff to people quickly.
Amazon said that if it did not get what it wanted, it would have to move the drone team to another country.
“Of course, Amazon would prefer to keep the focus, jobs and investment of this important research and development initiative in the United States,” the letter said.
Amazon stock shot up Friday faster than a you know what, jumping more than 5 percent. It was either the power of the drone or analysts’ reports predicting a good second quarter.