Which Airlines Offer Free Chauffeur Service?

There are many ways that airlines try to differentiate themselves in first and business class, from the inflight product, to the ground experience. In some cases the ground experience starts before you even get to the airport, as some airlines offer complimentary chauffeur service to and from the airport. In this post I wanted to take a closer look at which airlines offer this.

Airlines offering complimentary limousine service

Some airlines offer first and business class passengers a complimentary chauffeur service, as a way of providing a differentiated experience. Unfortunately over the years we’ve seen these opportunities decrease significantly. Not only have several airlines eliminated their chauffeur service option, but even those airlines that offer it have added more restrictions.

Ultimately I can understand why some airlines struggle with justifying offering chauffeur service. While it’s of course nice to have a door-to-door experience, many premium flyers are traveling for business, and presumably they can expense transportation to and from the airport as well. Many airlines just found that they couldn’t charge a premium that justified this, so some airlines (like Virgin Atlantic) have eliminated it.

With that out of the way, let me share the airlines that currently offer chauffeur service, ranked roughly based on how readily available the service is.

Emirates first & business class chauffeur service

Dubai-based Emirates Airline offers the most readily available chauffeur service:

• This is available at most destinations worldwide, on both arrival and departure
• First and business class passengers can take advantage of this; however, award tickets, tickets upgraded from economy, and “basic” business class fares, aren’t eligible for this service
• The flight must be marketed and operated by Emirates to be eligible
• This can be reserved more than 12 hours before departure through the booking management tool
• There are maximum distances that can be traveled, but they differ by city (it’s generally going to be around 50 miles)

At this point Emirates is the only airline that offers chauffeur service nearly globally, with few restrictions.

Etihad Airways first & business class chauffeur service

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways offers chauffeur service, but only at its Abu Dhabi hub:

• This is only available when arriving in or departing from Abu Dhabi
• First and business class passengers can take advantage of this if they paid cash for their ticket, but passengers on award tickets or who upgraded aren’t eligible (except Etihad Guest Gold and Platinum members, who are eligible)
• The flight must be marketed and operated by Etihad to be eligible
• This can be reserved more than 12 hours before departure through the booking management tool
• The chauffeur service is valid for travel to anywhere in the UAE

Turkish Airlines business class chauffeur service

Istanbul-based Turkish Airlines offers chauffeur service, but only at select airports:

• This service isn’t available in Istanbul, but rather is available at outstations in the United States and Canada, but only if flying to or from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Kuwait, Beirut, Tel Aviv, Tehran, Cairo, Mumbai, Delhi, Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Dacca, Nairobi, Riyadh, Dammam, Amman, Jeddah, or Bahrain
• Business class passengers can take advantage of this if they paid cash for their ticket (in fare classes C, D, J, K, and Z), but award tickets and upgraded tickets aren’t eligible
• The flight must be marketed and operated by Turkish to be eligible
• This can be reserved more than 24 hours before departure through the booking management tool
• The chauffeur service is valid for up to 35 miles of travel

Air China first & business class chauffeur service

Beijing-based Air China offers chauffeur service, but only at select airports in China:

• This service is only available at select airports in China, including Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin, and Xi’an
• First and business class passengers must be traveling to or from Europe, the Americas, Africa, or Oceania, in fare classes F, A, J, C, D, Z, or R; this means award tickets don’t qualify
• The flight must be marketed and operated by Air China to be eligible
• This can be reserved more than 48 hours before departure through this page
• The distance you can travel varies by city

Kuwait Airways first & business class chauffeur service

Kuwait-based Kuwait Airways offers chauffeur service, but only at its Kuwait City hub:

• This is only available when arriving in or departing from Kuwait City
• First and business class passengers can take advantage of this regardless of how they booked their ticket
• The flight must be marketed and operated by Kuwait Airways to be eligible
• This can be reserved more than 24 hours before departure through the booking management tool
• The chauffeur service is valid for travel to anywhere in Kuwait

Brussels Airlines fare based chauffeur service

Brussels Airlines probably offers the most noteworthy chauffeur service, since in some cases economy passengers can even take advantage of this:

• This is only available when arriving in or departing from Brussels
• It’s available for rides to the Netherlands, the north of France, Luxembourg, and North Rhine-Westphalia (in some cases this covers drives that take hours)
• It doesn’t matter what class you’re traveling in, as long as your fare is at least €2,500 (excluding taxes); even a group of four with a combined fare of a minimum of €2,500 would qualify for this
• The flight must be to or from the United States or Africa to qualify, so only long haul tickets are eligible
• This can be reserved more than 24 hours before departure, and requires contacting Brussels Airlines

Air France first class chauffeur service

This is a niche offering, but Air France offers chauffeur service in limited markets, including in France:

• This service is available when departing or arriving in Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, and Nice
• Only first class passengers are eligible for this
• The flight must be marketed and operated by Air France to be eligible
• This can be reserved more than six hours before departure by calling Air France

While this is the biggest market in which Air France offers chauffeur service, the airline also offers chauffeur service in select other markets, including Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates, though the terms there are even stricter.

SriLankan Airlines business class chauffeur service

Once again this is very niche, but SriLankan offers chauffeur service in London for passengers traveling to and from Colombo:

• This service is available when departing or arriving in London
• Only business class passengers on full fare tickets issued by SriLankan Airlines are eligible
• The chauffeur service is valid for up to 30 miles of travel
• This can be reserved more than 30 hours before departure by calling SriLankan Airlines

It’s interesting how SriLankan Airlines offers this for just one airport, especially since the airline faces no nonstop competition in the market. While London is premium, I can’t imagine this is what will push people over the edge to book SriLankan.

Other airlines offer tarmac transfers

As you can see, this post is specifically about airlines offering a chauffeur service to and from the airport. This is different than some of the airlines that offer tarmac transfers between planes and lounges. For example:

• Lufthansa first class passengers get driven to the plane from the Lufthansa First Class Terminal in Frankfurt, and in some situations, from the Lufthansa First Class Lounge Munich
• Air France first class passengers get driven to and from the Air France La Premiere Lounge in Paris
• There are some other airlines that offer this on a surprise and delight basis, including American for Concierge Key members, United for Global Services members, British Airways for first class passengers, Air Canada for business class passengers, and more

Bottom line

To differentiate themselves, some airlines offer first and business class passengers complimentary limousine service to and from the airports. It’s always awesome when this is offered, as it creates a seamless experience, and also provides extra value.

Unfortunately these opportunities are much more limited than in the past. Several airlines have cut this service altogether, while other airlines added fare class restrictions. At this point there aren’t any readily available award tickets that come with chauffeur service anymore.

If you’ve used an airline chauffeur service, what was your experience like? And did I miss any airlines offering this service?