Uber to launch helicopter taxis on Italy's Amalfi Coast this summer
Uber Copter services will operate every weekend from July 26th to August 23rd, taking passengers from the seaside town of Sorrento to the island of Capri and back, Il Corriere della Sera newspaper reported on Sunday.
Flights to Capri will depart at 9am every Saturday and Sunday, with return flights to Sorrento at 5pm, Uber said.
The new service, which includes door-to-door transportation to and from the helipads, will be available for groups of up to six passengers, with round trips costing €250 per person.
Customers will have to book at least 48 hours in advance via the Uber App, with bookings set to open on June 25th.
Besides new helicopter rides, Uber will also offer new boat services for groups of up to 12 people between July 26th and August 24th.
Uber Boat will take passengers from Sorrento's port to the picturesque cliffside town of Positano aboard stylish Gozzo 35 motorboats.
All trips will be bookable via the Uber app, an Uber spokesperson told Il Corriere della Sera, which reported that the service would be provided free of charge this summer as part of a promotional offer trialled by Uber on the Seine last summer.
No further details were available as of Monday regarding any conditions attached to the offer. An Uber Yacht experience introduced in Ibiza last year cost €1,600.
The US multinational said the new services catered to a surge in demand for alternative mobility options on the Amalfi Coast – one of Italy's most popular holiday destinations thanks to its pastel-coloured fishing villages and famed beaches.
In particular, the company cited the "record number of tourists" it anticipates will arrive this summer due to the recent opening of the Salerno Costa d'Amalfi Airport as a key reason for expanding into the region.
'Italy is fast becoming one of our most popular tourist destinations, with travellers turning to the Uber app to help make their holiday travel stress-free,' Anabel Diaz, vice president of Uber's EMEA Mobility, said.
Thanks to sustained pressure from Italy's powerful taxi unions, the standard Uber ride-hailing service doesn't exist in Italy, while the luxury Uber Black service is available in a limited number of cities.
However, following a 2022 agreement between Uber and Italy's largest taxi dispatcher, passengers in some parts of the country can now hail taxis using the Uber app.
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