Uber is helping its customers avoid unnecessary airport fees this summer, with the addition of luggage scales to vehicles across the country.
Available in participating cars from September, those taking a journey with select Uber vehicles in London, Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester, offering customers the opportunity to unpack any overloaded cases.
Uber hopes to help customers prevent extra luggage costs by flagging overweight luggage before arriving at the airport, where they can be met with heavy additional charges for luggage that falls over an airline’s weight limit. In fact, 47% of travellers polled in a recent survey by Uber have been stung by excess baggage charges, spending up to £100 to board a flight with their overweight suitcases.
A further 86% of Brits admitted to having had to leave items behind due to excess baggage weight exceeding the limit at the airport.
The new service is being introduced across key airport cities in the UK, as Uber reveals the items Brits are forced to sacrifice if their cases are too heavy:
- Food Items (34%)
- Toiletries (28%)
- Jumpers (14%)
- Shoes (13%)
- Gifts (13%)
- Jeans (12%)
- Swimwear (10%)
- Jewellery (9%)
- Underwear (9%)
“I think everyone dreads that moment of arriving at the airport ready to check-in and kick off a holiday, only to be met with a large bill for overweight luggage. As the world gets moving again we’re hoping to minimise this risk for our customers and make sure their holiday gets off to the best possible start as Uber continues to develop our new door-to-door travel experience.”
Andrew Brem, General Manager of Uber UK
Scales will be available in select Uber vehicles from September across London, Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester. Uber will be rolling out Uber Travel throughout August, offering new modes of transportation in the app for their users.
