Airline chauffeur servicefor premium passengers is something which has become more widespread lately. In some instances I ”get it,” from the airline’s perspective:
Continue reading: Asiana Offering Complimentary Chauffeur Service For A Limited Time
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Looking forward to seeing you today at Chicago Seminar! Coming in my Emirates pajamas 🙂
Believe it or not, of all carriers, *United* offered chauffeur service in Japan. It might still exist, but it was always billed as a temporary "promotion" that lasted for YEARS. I used it a few times in the 2000s, and it was extremely convenient when traveling with a ton of luggage.
IIRC, only transpacific flights to/from the US mainland qualified, and tickets had to originate in Japan. F got return service and C got single service (your choice of outbound or inbound). Aside from full fares, I think some discounted A and D fares were also eligible, but not the deeply discounted ones like Z. There were some other restrictions, but you could use it to/from almost anywhere in Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa, Saitama prefectures and NRT.
Not quite the same thing but ANA are partnering with Lexus to offer chauffeured connections at Haneda. It's for First Class passengers connecting to domestic (Japan) flights from London, LA and Frankfurt - it's not quite Lufthansa and Porsche but it's a start 🙂
Seems a bit strange to offer chauffeurs when on my OZ flight from LAX two weeks ago I wasn't even offered an amenity kit. According to FlyerTalk, they've been removed for ICN inbound flights. Would have preferred that since ICN was just a transit point to HRB for me.
That said, I do like the idea of chauffeur services, especially for cities without good/any public transport connections to their airports. I'm loathe to take taxis in any city, but even more so in unfamiliar places where one fears that they could be inclined to take a very scenic route, safe in the knowledge that the customer will have little ability to formally complain. At least with a chauffeur, the airline will hear about any poor experience and so I suspect would make sure that the chauffeur would end hearing all about it too.
They should first learn how to fly the plane. Then and only then can they worry about ground transportation
I think I see one context where I would buy a full fare ticket from an airline to get the chauffeur service. Say you're using the Amex Platinum companion ticket on a full fare, first class international flight. Usually the saving are pretty negligible, or it's more costly to buy one full fare than two non-refundables, but if I was going to do something like that, a chauffeur would be a nice incentive to choose one airline over another. That said, it's a pretty specific context, and I'm not sure how common it could be, but it's a thought.