Anyone looking to buy a plane ticket has a plethora of different platforms and avenues on which to do so — while doing it directly through the airline is always the safest in the case of any cancelations or other unforeseen circumstances, many will spend hours clicking between different flight aggregators to get a cheaper rate.
A separate estimate found that while 33% of travelers in France have bought a plane ticket from their mobile phone, a desktop computer is still the the avenue of choice for 80% of American travelers.
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To tap into the growing number of customers who do prefer to book flights on their phone, Uber (UBER) has developed a platform for doing so through the app.
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Here's How (Some) Will Be Able To Book A Flight Through Uber
On May 10, the ride-hailing giant announced that the latest step towards its goal of becoming a "super app" involves providing a venue for booking domestic and international flights.
While this option will initially only be available for customers in the United Kingdom, the fact that the ride-share company is thinking in this direction will be welcome news for those who like to use one app for all their travel needs.
The new feature will be powered through mobile travel-booking platform Hopper and work similarly to other flight booking platforms — the user is prompted to enter their destination and travel dates and is presented with flight options with different prices.
Users will also be able to choose between return and one-way flights and choose their seat on the plane directly through the app.
"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," Uber General Manager Andrew Brem said in a statement.
Uber To 'Closely Monitor' Customers' Plane Booking Interest, Company Says
Not yet commenting on when or whether such a feature could come to North Ameria, an Uber spokesperson told ABC News that the company will be "closely monitoring customer engagement" to decide whether to "expand the feature to other markets."
In the United Kingdom, Uber users can already book bus tickets and train travel through the country's National Rail network. In the United States, the company lets users book charter buses for groups in certain markets but is not available for booking individual tickets in large part due to the larger distances and absence of a strong cross-city bus network in many states.
With Uber shares up more than 52% since the start of 2023, Uber has managed to convince investors of its plans to move beyond the ride-hailing model it pioneered in the late 2000s.
In a May 2 analyst call, the ride-hailing company said that "return to work [and] travel tailwinds" are rebounding strongly post-pandemic as the company expects to bring in between $800 and $850 million in adjusted income for the quarter ending in June.
In the same time period, Uber has also been expanding the Reserve option allowing customers to book rides more than 90 days in advance — while the feature has been available in some markets since 2020, Uber recently reported stronger customer interest particularly for travel to and from airports.
