Tag Archives: car rental

SAUDIA and Lumi, announce a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore the provision of an array of benefits for members of SAUDIA’s ALFURSAN loyalty program. With a fleet of around 25,000 cars, Lumi is one of the Kingdom’s top-performing rental companies with a commitment to embracing digitisation and innovative technology for a highly personalised and intuitive service. SAUDIA has recently announced several new partnerships to further bolster its ALFURSAN loyalty program to provide a range of unprecedented benefits to members. This included the opportunity to redeem more miles through the introduction of the “Reward” and “Reward Plus” categories. Essam Akhonbay, VP Marketing & Product Management at SAUDIA, commented: “Our partnership with Lumi is further testament to our dedication to working with best-in-class partners to deliver a truly seamless traveller experience. The collaboration also forms a vital part of the complete transformation of the ALFURSAN loyalty program and we hope that this latest MoU will further support our aim to grant more exclusive benefits than ever before whilst rewarding our highly valued guests for their continued loyalty.” Azfar Shakeel, Chief Executive officer of Lumi, commented: “We are delighted to announce this MoU with SAUDIA, and we are excited to be offering the opportunity for our car rental customers to participate in and benefit from the ALFURSAN loyalty program. This is another important step in our ambitious growth journey, as we build our network of blue-chip partners across the Kingdom – spurring the expansion of our business and widening the opportunity set for our customers. We look forward to working closely with the SAUDIA team on what we are sure will be a long and fruitful collaboration.”

Marking its presence in the Middle East, Blacklane has opened its office in Dubai. After the Berlin headquarters and Asia-Pacific office in Singapore, this is the company’s third office having three priorities. The first is to support Emirates’s complimentary chauffeur-drive service as it provides First and Business Class-passengers with chauffeured airport transfers. Blacklane exclusively supplies these rides for Emirates in India, Italy and Sweden. Secondly, it is to add new cities across the Middle East and Africa (MEA). Blacklane currenty serves 21 cities in 10 MEA countries. In the coming months, the company will add dozens of additional cities across the region. Lastly, it is to build corporate business and partnerships across the region. The Dubai team will increase the number of Blacklane guests originating from the Middle East. Jens Wohltorf, CEO and Co-founder, Blacklane, said, “As the centre of travel in the Middle East and the headquarters of Emirates, Dubai is perfect for Blacklane’s office expansion.” He added, “Emirates means quality, and we’re proud to provide that on the ground, online and in our customer service for Emirates’s guests.”

UDrive, a Dubai-based pay-as-you-go rental service launched the ‘UDrive for free’ campaign, offering residents and visitors to Dubai free membership for one month as well as a complimentary one hour free drive, that is inclusive of parking and fuel costs. With UDrive, commuters can drive a car from anywhere to everywhere in the city, at any time and only PAY as you drive. As one of Dubai’s mobility programs with maximum flexibility, UDrive offers its members an opportunity to spontaneously rent vehicles anytime and anywhere without having to specify place of return or time in advance. Hasib Khan, Managing Director and Founder, UDrive, commented, “Car sharing has evolved into sustainable mobility with potential for strong growth worldwide. We believe that Dubai’s Smart Vision, the transient nature of life and the prevailing costs of car ownership makes car sharing an excellent mobility solution. For those who don’t want to commit to ownership, or don’t have the need for everyday car accessibility, UDrive makes the perfect option, whilst being also a reliable connector to the public transport. We are pleased to be the first public car sharing provider in the Middle East and to be a part of Dubai’s Smart Vision.” UDrive cars can be booked and paid for via an app, offering Dubai’s most convenient and affordable car rental options for residents and visitors. Vehicles can be rented at a location nearest to the drivers via the UDrive app or can be reserved for fifteen minutes at no extra costs. The cars reserved can be opened using the UDrive app and will need to be activated using the pin provided on the device located in the glove box. This keyless access …