Users of the leading flight search and deals publishing platform can now access 1,500 leading and independent car hire agents in 30,000 locations across 174 countries.
Cheapflights has placed UK travellers firmly in the driving seat by adding car hire to its existing flight and holiday package search functionality. Users of the leading flight search and deals publishing platform can now access 1,500 leading and independent car hire agents in 30,000 locations across 174 countries, thanks to a new partnership with the world’s leading online B2B travel technology platform, CarTrawler.
Cheapflights Managing Director, Andrew Shelton, said: “The best value fly, stay and drive options are now comparable within seconds on our site, so travellers can plan their holiday with certainty using real-time information. We’re giving our users access to more car rental providers than they will find anywhere else, and the ability to compare global brands with independent firms all over the world.”
The addition follows a number of enhancements to the desktop and mobile user experience in recent weeks including the display of cheaper flight options from airports close to the user’s selected departure airport, and a choice of booking through an OTA or direct with an airline.
Flight search results now display in Cheapest, Quickest and Smart Value tabs to make these sorting options clear. Cheapflights intuitively filters out flights with an unnecessarily long duration so travellers can focus on their most convenient and closely-matched options, whilst the search calendar also helps out with a new reset option.
Furthermore, this week has seen hotel search functionality added to the Cheapflights app globally, giving users the facility to search for the best price on hotels as well as flights, making it simple to plan their entire trip in a single location. Cheapflights app usage has increased by 202% YoY (+347% Q1 2016 versus Q1 2015), with downloads growing by 87% YoY.
Michael Cunningham, Chief Commercial Officer of CarTrawler, said: “This partnership is great news for Cheapflights customers. They are used to booking great value flights, and now they will have direct online access to the best value car rental options all around the world, through CarTrawler’s simple technology integration. We’re looking forward to working with Cheapflights to maximize the ancillary potential of their extensive customer base.”
Shelton added: “Our heartland will always be flight search, and with 40 per cent increase in year-on-year visitor traffic across our meta sites, that’s what more and more people come to us for first. But with nearly half of all visits now repeat users it’s clear we’re trusted to deliver accurate and timely information across the spectrum of travel products. Adding car hire to that range, as well as hotel search in our app as well, is a natural step for us. Our other refinements further finesse the search process across our platforms, keeping it simple and intuitive for the user.”
Car hire is currently available on the Cheapflights desktop and mobile websites.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
