The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has issued American Airlines a landmark $50 million penalty for the airline’s mistreatment of disabled travelers and their mobility aids between 2019 and 2023.
Blacklane Raises $65 Million for Luxury Chauffeur App
30.10.2024 - 03:15 / skift.com / Justin Dawes
Blacklane, a chauffeur service app, said Tuesday that it has raised $65 million (€60 million) in a series G round of funding.
Blacklane offers several types of luxury chauffeur services for consumers and business travelers, bookable through an app, in dozens of cities around the world.
The Berlin-based company plans to grow each of its business lines, as well as establish operations in new locations.
“Blacklane originally started with airport transfers. But this extreme focus also made us very vulnerable during the pandemic. We took this as an opportunity, however, to diversify,” said Jens Wohltorf, CEO and co-founder of Blacklane, in an email to Skift.
Services include airport transfers, intercity travel, and hourly and day bookings.
They also include a ride-hailing feature in Dubai and Miami — which vies to compete with Uber and its newly launched black-car service for business travelers. He said there are more cities to come. “Our goal is to be part of our guests’ daily lives in these cities,” Wohltorf said.
Tasaru Mobility Investments, an auto and mobility investment firm based in Saudi Arabia, led the latest round with support from existing investors.
With a big push by Saudi Arabia to increase tourism in the country, Wohltorf sees an opportunity.
“Last year I had the opportunity to visit Riyadh and witnessed the incredible energy and euphoria in the country. First, they are working on mega-projects and want to reach global levels and standards in everything they do as fast as possible. Second, the entire premium mobility transportation sector is still an open playing field. And so I thought to myself: We can’t just watch, we have to be part of this development,” Wohltorf said.
Besides providing capital, Tasaru is helping Blacklane expand in Saudi Arabia. Blacklane is launching in several key cities with a fleet of electric vehicles, with plans to train local female and male drivers. Tasaru is also helping Blacklane establish relationships with Saudi airlines and airport transfer companies.
In addition, Blacklane wants to expand in the U.S., its largest market, as well as continue business in Europe. Wohltorf said the number of U.S. bookings grew 20% from 2022 to 2023.
The company did not disclose its new valuation but said it’s about 25% higher than its previous fundraise of $36 million in September 2023.
Blacklane says it has been profitable since spring 2022, and its revenue in 2023 grew 25% from the previous year.
Mercedes-Benz Mobility, the financial services arm of Mercedes-Benz Group, is the largest shareholder of Blacklane. The company has 400 employees and thousands of drivers, it said.
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