Uber’s ambition to transform itself from a ride-hailing service to a “travel super app” has seen the company branch out into Uber flight bookings, for both domestic and international flights …
Uber flight bookings starting in the UK
The initial launch is in the UK, but the company says that this is a testbed for its plans to do the same in the US and elsewhere. Uber is already using the UK to test bookings for national and international rail journeys, and coach bookings.
The Financial Times reports.
Andrew Brem, Uber’s UK general manager, told the Financial Times the launch of commercial flight bookings was “the latest and most ambitious step” in the company’s strategy to expand its core ride-booking business into a wider travel booking platform […]
Uber has partnered with travel booking company Hopper to sell flights, and will take a small commission from each sale. It also has the option of adding a booking fee on top in the future.
The move is part of a long-term vision of chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi, who first talked about Uber becoming a wider travel platform in 2018. This plan was delayed by the pandemic, which brought the travel and transport industry to a halt, and led the group to focus on its food delivery business.
Short-term goal
Uber’s immediate goal with these moves is drive demand for its core car services. After all, if you book your flight through the Uber app, you’re likely to use it to book your car services to and from the airport too.
About 15 per cent of Uber’s gross bookings are airport trips, while in the UK 40 per cent of journeys start or end near transit hubs.
Long-term ambition is a super app
Last year’s deal to include all New York City yellow cabs in the app was part of this broader super app ambition, but the company has said that it eventually hopes to go beyond even the entire travel sector.
“We want Uber to be the operating system for your everyday life,” said chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi.
This suggests long-term ambitions along the lines of the Chinese app WeChat, which started as a messaging app and turned into, well, everything.
Photo: Louis Magnotti/Unsplash
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments