Uber expands horizons: Flight bookings introduced in the UK

May 10, 2023

Apps

The most popular ride-sharing application, Uber, has expanded its horizon and added flight bookings in the United Kingdom. The company will be using the UK as a trial market and see if it wants to expand the span into more countries in the future.

Uber has partnered with Hopper, a mobile-first travel marketplace with nearly 100 million downloads so far. As a result of the partnership, Uber and Hopper have joined forces to sell international and domestic flight tickets through the Uber app, announced in a blog post.

"We're incredibly pleased to introduce flight bookings as the latest addition to Uber's suite of travel booking options. Perfect for business travellers and tourists alike, our new functionality will make the booking and managing of air travel simple and stress-free, with the booking process taking as little as one minute in the Uber app. Over the last 12 months, with the addition of rail, coach, and now flight bookings, Uber is truly a one-stop travel solution," said Andrew Brem, General Manager at Uber UK.

Thanks to the prior partnerships with companies like Eurostar, Thames Clippers, Omio, National Rail, National Express, and Megabus, customers in the UK can already add reservations for trains, boats, and buses using their Uber accounts. However, flight tickets weren't available for users until now.

This could also increase the main ride-sharing feature

According to The Financial Times, Uber will take a small amount of commission from each sale, and it may consider increasing the price for flight bookings in the future by adding an extra fee. Uber's primary ride-sharing business could benefit by encouraging customers to make other travel arrangements using the Uber app. The company says that airport trips account for 15% of Uber's total gross bookings in the UK, with 40% of journeys beginning or ending near transit hubs like railway stations.

Around two months ago, Uber added a new feature to prevent getting lost at airports. The company added new airport ride-finding features to its app, allowing customers to book trips up to 90 days in advance. It also offers thorough walking directions with graphics for major airports and modifies ETA estimates to account for traveling to baggage claim.