The Adani Group is planning to invest in a fleet of passenger vehicles, which it will list on ride-hailing platforms such as Uber in the cities where it operates airports, sources aware of the development told ET.
The conglomerate, which operates seven airports in the country, has already been in discussions with Uber to chalk out a plan. Notably, the two companies recently announced a partnership under which Adani Airports now has dedicated pick-up zones for Uber 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. Adani Group operates airports in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati and Mangalore.
The Ahmedabad-based group has been investing in companies to complement its airport business. Earlier this month, it inked an agreement with India’s largest independent aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul company AirWorks at an enterprise value of INR 400 crore. Last year, the group picked up a 74 per cent stake in Flemingo Travel Retail and its Mumbai Travel Retail unit, which operate duty-free outlets at major airports in India. Last October, the Adani Group bought a 20 per cent stake in Flipkart-owned online travel agency Cleartrip.
Post the pandemic, taxi-hailing apps such as Uber and Ola have faced a supply problem with drivers not coming back to the platforms in full numbers. “For players like Uber and Ola, the entry of a large participant in the fleet operator segment could come as a shot in the arm,” another source said.
Per industry estimates, within the ride-hailing business, airport rides are the most profitable category.
While details of the scale at which the Adani Group is planning to invest in this business are yet to emerge, this will mark the infrastructure major’s entry into yet another new-age business. The company has already made big bets in the data centre business — a sector that was recently accorded infrastructure status — in addition to its multi-layered partnership with Walmart-owned e-commerce platform Flipkart.
E-mail queries sent to Adani Group and Uber did not elicit a response.
In last week’s statement announcing the arrangement with Uber, Adani Airport Holdings Director Jeet Adani had said: “Our airports are distinctively positioned on the global air map. Air-travel fuels the aspirations of millions of inbound and outbound passengers, connecting them with an ecosystem conducive for their growth. Keeping convenience at the forefront of our service philosophy, we work closely with our partners to innovate and create integrated solutions that understand the hassles and stresses of planning an itinerary while travelling. We are committed to ensuring a seamless, safe, and convenient travel experience at all our airports.”
Vinay Piparsania, founder and principal of mobility advisory and consultancy firm MillenStrat said that with this venture, Adani could be looking at an upstream and downstream solution. “An airport is a 24×7 operation with its peaks and drops and that’s something that makes it predictable. No one today is fully satisfying the end user’s requirements. So, anyone who can provide a service that is predictable, comfortable and safe…”
“Adani is looking at both an upstream and a downstream solution — where it has a hold over the supply and secondly is the end user because it can provide solutions that it can bundle together. With the right software solution, accounting for pickup time, drop-off locations, delay in flights, etc, it can be much more bespoke in its management,” he added.
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