Uber launches flight bookings in UK, plans to double down on growth

As part of its push to develop into a travel 'super app', Uber has launched flight bookings to its UK app, enabling users to plan a full journey that includes multiple modes of transportation, a report by Financial Times (FT) said.

The San Francisco-based company has begun rolling out the new booking tool for domestic and international flights to UK customers, with plans to expand it to users across the nation in the upcoming weeks, it added.

Uber's UK general manager Andrew Brem told FT that the introduction of commercial flight bookings is "the latest and most ambitious step" in the company's strategy to transform its core ride-booking business into a larger travel booking platform.

The company is testing these ideas in the UK, one of its largest international markets, where domestic train, Eurostar, and coach ticket bookings are already available.

Brem stated that since their introduction last year, train bookings have become "incredibly popular" with consumers and have increased by 40 per cent month-on-month (MoM). However, she declined to comment on the number of tickets being sold.

Uber's plan for diversification

Uber has teamed up 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 near future.

The move is part of CEO Dara Khosrowshahi's long-term plan. In 2018, he first discussed Uber's plan to expand into a more comprehensive travel platform. The coronavirus pandemic put a stop to the travel and transportation sector, delaying this plan, and forcing the company to concentrate on its food delivery business instead.

Uber has previously made an effort to provide flights using a different business model. In 2019, it introduced $200 helicopter rides in the US for trips between Manhattan and JFK airport under the brand Uber Copter. However, the service was discontinued in 2020 after the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown was enforced.

Advantage for Uber

One advantage of allowing flight bookings on its app is that it will draw more users into Uber's primary ride-booking business, which will result in reduced rates for rides to the airport when a flight is purchased.

In the UK, 40 per cent of trips begin or end near transit hubs, while airport trips account for about 15 per cent of Uber's total gross bookings.

"We hope to build our core business,” Brem was quoted as saying by FT.

He added that the group hoped to expand bookings on other forms of transport including flights to more countries but had “no firm plans” currently.

The push for diversification comes as this month's earnings revealed that Uber continued to fare better than anticipated and in comparison to its competitors in coping with rising inflation and economic uncertainty.

Additionally, it has recovered from a difficult time in the UK, where the demand for its ride-booking services quickly outpaced the supply of drivers as the economy started to recover. This was partially resolved by raising pay and fares, and as a result, there are now more drivers employed in the UK than there were prior to the pandemic.