Uber and JetBlue partner to offer rides to delayed passengers

JetBlue passengers whose flights are delayed or canceled overnight can expect a smoother ride going forward. The airline is partnering with Uber to issue travelers Uber vouchers for transportation to hotels during overnight delays, the airline and ride-hailing service announced Tuesday.

The New York City-based airline will offer affected travelers complimentary Uber vouchers for qualified travel disruptions, specifically flight delays or cancellations.

To be eligible for the voucher, delays or cancellations need to meet one of two qualifying criteria for situations where JetBlue is not able to rebook the customer on a new flight until the following day, specifically:

For JetBlue flights that are delayed at least three hours due to something within JetBlue’s control
For JetBlue flights that are canceled due to something within the airline’s control

In both of those scenarios, JetBlue will offer an Uber voucher to provide ground transportation from the airport to a nearby hotel (and back).

“We always work to give our customers a great onboard experience and get them to their destination safely and on time,” Joanna Geraghty, president and COO at JetBlue, said in a statement. “Sometimes travel doesn’t go as planned, and flights can get delayed or cancelled. In those cases, when the disruption is due to something in our control, our partnership with Uber for Business will make options for our customers more seamless.”

Affected travelers will receive the voucher via email.

This program is currently available across all domestic cities where JetBlue operates and will initially expand internationally to Paris, London and Amsterdam before broadening to South America and the Caribbean.

“No matter how much you prepare, travel is always full of surprises,” Susan Anderson, global head of Uber for Business and business development at Uber, said. “Together, we can help to ensure that even if travel doesn’t go as planned, travelers will have an easy and streamlined ground transportation option, so they can get where they need to go quickly.”

Uber’s new ‘Return a package’ feature

return a package feature on screen — UBER

In addition to the newly announced partnership to provide vouchers to JetBlue customers who experience qualified travel disruptions, Uber also launched a new feature this week for Uber customers to return packages via the app.

Customers can use Uber’s new “Return a package” feature to request a courier pick up any prepaid and sealed packages (up to five at a time) for drop-off at a local post office or UPS or FedEx location.

Packages must be prepaid (with a label or QR code), sealed and ready to be shipped. Additionally, they must be less than $100 in value and weigh less than 30 pounds while meeting additional shipping guidelines detailed in the app.

Once the pickup is complete, customers can track their package in real time in the Uber app, where the courier will send a visual confirmation or photo of the receipt after the drop-off.

As of Wednesday, users can access this new feature in both the Uber and Uber Eats apps by clicking on the package icon in the Uber app or the “Return a package” in the settings section of the Uber Eats app.

Uber will charge a $5 flat fee for this service or $3 for Uber One members. As of Wednesday, this feature is available for customers in nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns, including Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, New York City and San Francisco.

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