Uber has launched international and domestic flight bookings on its UK app, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
The move is “the latest and most ambitious step” in the company’s strategy to expand its core ride-booking business, Uber’s UK General Manager Andrew Brem told FT.
The San Francisco-based company, which already offers train and coach ticket bookings in the UK, has begun rolling out the new feature for its UK customers and plans to expand in the coming weeks, the report said.
Uber has partnered with travel booking company Hopper to sell flights and will take a small commission from each sale, the report said.
Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last month, Uber announced the expansion of its ‘Reserve’ facility across six more cities in India, giving riders an option to pre-book their rides 30 minutes to 90 days ahead of their travel. Uber Reserve will now be available for cash payments offering riders access to pre-booked rides, it said in a statement.
The six new cities added are Kochi, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, and Guwahati.
“Reserve now appears as a new option in the latest version of the Uber app and is available on Uber Premier, Uber Intercity, Uber Rentals, and Uber XL,” an Uber release said.
With this, the service is now live across 13 cities — Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Kochi, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, and Guwahati — in India.
The new product is developed keeping in mind pre-planned travel needs, including work trips, airport drops, visits to the doctor, and other scheduled appointments, according to Uber.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
