Uber to Add Flights, Rail and Hotel Bookings to Its UK App

Skift Take

We shouldn’t be too surprised, considering Uber’s Dara Khosrowshahi was previously the CEO of Expedia Group. But technical questions will remain over how a ride-hailing and food delivery app can transform into a superapp so quickly.

Matthew Parsons

Ride-hailing and food delivery app Uber has its eyes on the “seamless journey” with plans to add flights, trains and even hotels.

The new features would first be piloted in the UK, according to reports, and follow the addition of Uber Explore last month — a new platform that offers live events, restaurants and other activities. Skift contacted Uber for comment.

The decision would signal a turnaround on the comments its CEO made at Skift Global Forum in September last year. “The superapp strategy is more of an Asia strategy,” Dara Khosrowshahi said. “At this point, we believe separate apps for consumers is the right way to go. But we’ll make it seamless and magical for users to jump between apps.”

Since Khosrowshahi spoke at the New York event, AirAsia (or Capital A as it rebranded to) has doubled down on its superapp strategy in Southeast Asia. It has started selling a new subscription plan for flights and food delivery to customers in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Also speaking at Skift Global Forum, Hopper CEO Frederic Lalonde predicted that a Western global superapp for travel would emerge. “It may be owned by Google, Facebook or Alibaba, but it will be a superapp and we’re trying to become that,” he said on stage.

Uber may have been planning this for some time, as it was only granted a 30-month license extension to operate in London last month. The UK has also dropped nearly all Covid-related restrictions. 

“With Covid behind us, with this big push into new modes of transport, we want to signal that this is a very important growth lever for us over the coming years,” Jamie Heywood, Uber’s regional general manager for UK, northern and eastern Europe, was quoted as saying in the report.

Rail and coach bookings are reportedly launching later this summer, flight bookings later this year, and hotel reservations in 2023. While commissions from selling different types of content stand to be huge, the big question will be how it navigates integrating so many different booking capabilities.