If you’ve ever arrived at a hectic airport where you have to go past pushy timeshare salespeople and aggressive taxi touts to get to a taxi, you may have asked yourself, “Why didn’t we arrange a pickup?” Instead of trying to navigate transportation in a strange airport in a foreign country, there’s a friendly face holding up your name instead. If you book ahead with Blacklane car service, they’ll lead you to a very nice car too for your trip to the hotel.
I have booked an airport transfer with Blacklane in the past now and then: I once had a flight that came into Toluca but my hotel was in Mexico City, so I booked a transfer with them instead of trying to figure out how I could cover that distance by other means. On a recent trip to Argentina, however, with a stop in Mexico City on the way home, I booked a series of them everywhere I could.
I arranged a pickup upon arrival in Buenos Aires, two trips to the airport from where I was staying (one domestic, one international), and one from the Mexico City airport to the Sofitel Reforma. The service from this executive car service definitely meets the needs of luxury travelers who want to move around comfortably.
These transfers with Blacklane made the trip so much more pleasant and stress-free compared to my usual winging it that it made me question my sanity on some previous journeys. Sure, it costs far more than a taxi would, but the amount of hassle it saves and the comfort it adds are well worth it. All our trips were in spacious BMW or Mercedes sedans with leather seats and lots of legroom. The drivers spoke English well, even though we were in Spanish-speaking countries, and all of them were professional and courteous.
This company has been around since 2011 and they operate in more than 300 cities, so there’s a good chance they can get you from your airport to the hotel and around in any large Latin American city.
Blacklane Car Service Airport Pickups
Our initial United flight into Buenos Aires, coming all the way from Houston direct, was late. Thankfully the driver knew this ahead of time and could adjust. Plus Blacklane gives you an hour grace period for situations like this where problems beyond your control will hold things up. It’s a good thing because it took quite a while to get through customs and fetch our luggage.
The friendly driver holding a sign with my name wasn’t phased and he led us straight to a nice black sedan, loaded our luggage, and headed to the hotel. If I’d had the app on, it would have showed a map and told us how long the trip would take, but the driver let us know anyway, as we found was customary on these trips.
Once we arrived (in that nice sedan above), the driver unloaded the luggage and we headed inside to check in. The price you see when you book a trip is the total including tolls and tips. No need to have cash on hand in a new currency as soon as you’ve arrived.
Our trips were in Business Class, but you can reserve a van or a higher-end vehicle if needed. If you choose First Class instead, you’ll ride in a Mercedes-Benz EQS, BMW 7 Series, or Audi A8.
Hotel to Airport or Around Town
When it’s time to head back to the airport, you don’t have to deal with hailing a taxi or waiting around for an Uber driver with a questionable vehicle. You can book ahead with Blacklane and have the luxury car waiting for you at check-out time. Simply hand in your keys, hand over your luggage, and relax for the ride.
Once again, this removed a lot of stress from our time in Buenos Aires and we knew exactly when we were taking off so we didn’t have to pad the airport transfer time to make up for uncertainty. The driver was there early at Mio Buenos Aires when we were flying to Calafate and was ready to load our luggage as soon as we walked out the door.
I realized what a time-saver this was when I didn’t reserve a transfer out of Sofitel Reforma Mexico City. We were heading to catch an ETN bus to another Mexican city, not the airport, so I just figured no problem, we’ll get an Uber. We ended up waiting more than 20 minutes for him to show up and the vehicle was a big step down from the luxury sedan we arrived in.
Booking a Transfer With Blacklane
The process to book a transfer with this company is easy and phone-friendly. Once you have registered on their site, you pick a place and time, Blacklane quotes a price for different options, and you book it. You’ll know how long the trip is going to take from Point A to Point B.
If plans change or your flight gets delayed, you can go onto the website or into the app and change your pickup time.
The communication from the company is excellent. You receive a text with your driver’s name and you get notified when the driver has arrived. I also received an e-mail each time with my driver’s name, mobile number, reservation number, cost, meeting area, and destination. It was great to always have this at my fingertips before I needed it.
Then as soon as the trip is finished, you receive another e-mail reminding you of the amount you just paid for the trip. This is marked as an invoice and can also serve as your receipt for reimbursement purposes.
Blacklane can also arrange intercity rides, say from Buenos Aires to Tigre in Argentina ($108 to $175). If you have a group, their “Sprinter Service” is a passenger van pickup that you know will be comfortable.
I know I’ll be using Blacklane car service more in the future after experiencing what a difference this can make in the enjoyment of my trips, especially when landing at a South America airport far from home after a long journey.
Have you tried an executive car service pickup from the airport while on vacation? How did it go?
