According to reports, the Adani group intends to invest in fleets of passenger vehicles that would be listed on ride-hailing platforms like Uber in order to promote the traction at Adani Airports in Tier-I cities.
Uber and Adani Group, which runs seven airports nationwide, have previously held negotiations. According to a story by the Economic Times, the two businesses recently struck a cooperation under which Adani Airports now has designated Uber pick-up zones at five of its seven airports.
“This is a part of the Adani Group’s strategy to build ancillary offerings that support the airport business growth,” one of the sources said, as quoted by ET. Airports in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati, and Mangalore are run by the Adani Group.
The Ahmedabad-based group has been investing in other businesses in addition to running airports. Earlier this month, the company inked a contract for Rs 400 crore with AirWorks, the largest independent provider of aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul in India.
Last year, the group purchased a 74% share in Flemingo Travel Retail and its Mumbai Travel Retail division, which manage duty-free shops at significant Indian airports. The Adani Group purchased Cleartrip, a Flipkart-owned online travel business, in October of last year.
Due to drivers not returning to their platforms in full numbers after the epidemic, Uber and Ola are having supply issues. According to another source quoted in the story, “Players like Uber and Ola, the entry of a significant participant in the fleet operator category might come as a shot in the arm.”
According to estimations from the industry, airport rides are the most lucrative part of the ride-hailing company.
