Lyft Launches New Feature for Airport Pre-Orders

Ride-sharing platform Lyft is adding new capabilities to its app that will allow travelers to pre-order cars as they land at their destination instead of waiting until they get to the pickup location.

Lyft CEO David Risher unveiled the new feature at an event in New York on Thursday, explaining that the new reservation option could help Lyft gain market share by easing the airport experience for its users.

How it works is that once a traveler lands, they will be able to open Lyft and order a car instead of waiting until they exit the terminal. After answering a couple of prompts, Lyft will then pair the traveler with a driver who will arrive as they also arrive at the pickup location.

The app will take into account possible wait times at immigration and at baggage claim, which Lyft hopes will make it so the driver arrives at the pickup area just as passengers do, too, saving them the time usually taken waiting for a rideshare driver to accept the ride and then drive to the pickup area.

The feature will ideally save travelers time and stress waiting for a car, which could be a huge pain point for some travelers, especially those just getting off long flights, or those landing in a destination with harsh weather.

Lyft also allows users to sync the feature with their Google or Apple calendars, which will give Lyft access to flight details and will notify users when it is time to call a ride—Lyft will simply prompt users to call a ride after they land.

The feature is currently available at some airports—Lyft officially launched it at Los Angeles International and Chicago O’Hare on Thursday and expects to soon do the same at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, JFK International, and Seattle-Tacoma International by the end of the month—as long as users have the latest version of the Lyft app.