Uber Reaches For the Skies

3 months ago · < 1 minute read

Like all companies, Uber is constantly on the lookout for new opportunities to expand. Their newest addition? Hot air balloon rides. Before you get too excited, know that this is just for Turkey, specifically the highly-visited Cappadocia site. It follows on the heels of other additions like tuk-tuks in India (their version of taxis, often a cart or carriage pulled by a driver on a motorbike) and Uber boat rides in Greece. 

It’s not exactly inexpensive, either. Users pay 150 euros (that’s about $159) to reserve one of 20 seats on a sunrise flight. The whole ride lasts about an hour and a half, looking down on the UNESCO site with churches dating back to the 10th century. So, why does Turkey get the hot air balloon rides?

Well, Turkey has been a place of serious growth for Uber over the last few years. There are 30,000 Uber drivers there, mostly concentrated in Istanbul. The tourism sector is growing rapidly in the country, and more and more people are looking to book rides on and off the ground. Uber has a history of expanding into more than just car rides, and Turkey seems like the perfect place to test drive balloon rides.