kabarsula All eyes on Uber: is the rideshare platform after a bigger slice of Australian travel? bandar SLOT INDONESIA

Leaving Sydney Airport’s domestic terminal a couple of weeks ago following the TravelManagers conference in Hobart, it was difficult not to notice a significant change in who is getting passengers to and from the airport.

Whilst the taxi rank outside the airport was nearly empty, hordes of travellers were making their way over to the somewhat far-off ‘pick-up’ point. Here, we had to wait about 15 minutes before finally being connected with a driver.

Ten years ago, Uber occupied just 7 per cent of airport pickups. In the latest figures from 2024, this was more than 50 per cent. I would hazard a guess that the number is even higher now.

Once the airport pickup’s poor distant relative, fighting for space to pick up passengers, Uber is now the standard.

At the airport, Uber’s increasing influence is obvious, but what about elsewhere?

The eagle-eyed amongst us, or those that are travel journalists, would have noticed Uber’s pretty dramatic influence on Qantas’ recent financial results.

Uber was Qantas Loyalty’s fastest-growing partner in FY26 and more than one million Qantas Frequent Flyer members are now earning points through Uber.

Qantas specifically says the Uber partnership was expanded, with members now able to earn Qantas Points on select rides and deliveries. This sits within a very large and growing Loyalty business: Qantas Loyalty generated $625 million in underlying EBIT in FY26, up 12 per cent, while revenue reached $2.9 billion, up 12 per cent.

The numbers are telling, but perhaps more interesting is what they represent.

Uber is no longer simply the service you open when you need a ride. It is increasingly being woven into the travel ecosystem itself – connecting with airlines, airports and, increasingly, the businesses that sit around the traveller.

And that should make the Australian travel industry sit up and take notice.

Because Uber already has something most travel businesses would kill for: millions of customers opening its app with a specific travel need, often at one of the most valuable points in the journey.

The question now is how much further it wants to go.

Globally, Uber has made no secret of its ambitions to become more than a rideshare platform, expanding into areas including hotels, travel planning and destination services.

In Australia, it already has a significant foothold. Its partnership with Qantas puts it directly into the country’s largest airline loyalty ecosystem, while its presence at airports means it is often one of the first services travellers turn to when they land.

For travel agents, airlines, hotels and tourism businesses, that raises an interesting question: is Uber becoming another supplier to the travel industry, or could it eventually become a competitor?

Because if Uber can own the ride, the airport transfer, the restaurant booking, the hotel stay and the destination experience, it starts to look less like a rideshare company and more like a travel platform.

We’re not there yet.

But if the past decade tells us anything, it is that Uber has a habit of moving into territory that once seemed outside its remit.

And judging by its growing presence in Australian travel, I wouldn’t bet against it taking another slice.