In our latest issue, we sat down with James Dow, London general manager for Blacklane, to find out more about how they work with executive support professionals and what’s new. Blacklane is the global chauffeur service, operating in 500 cities across 50 countries and we are delighted to have Blacklane featured on the cover of the autumn edition too…
Why should PAs and EAs choose a professional chauffeur service?
It’s important to consider the full picture of what you need. A global, consistent partner ensures your executives have the highest standards of service wherever in the world they travel, bringing peace of mind that they are taken care of both at home, and when abroad.
Blacklane also has detailed reporting, a simple expenses process, automated invoicing and additional VIP service options for the most high profile guests. You can book both via our own platform – for yourself or someone else – and in the tech tools that busy EAs and PAs use for other travel plans such as Concur and Groundspan. Our pricing is transparent and all-inclusive, making budget planning simple.
When it comes to the guest, Blacklane’s qualified professional chauffeur partners are passionate about first-class service and a high quality experience. Your executives can expect reliability, safety and the time and space to be productive or to rest and recover. Confidential calls and meetings can take place on the go, and work carries on uninterrupted. Airport pick-ups include an hours waiting time including and adapted to unexpected delays, and our chauffeur partners track flights to ensure simple coordination of ever-changing journey logistics.
How does Blacklane currently work with executive support professionals?
Our account management teams are there to support everyone, including providing detailed reporting, to aid with management information, sustainability tracking and trend monitoring. For some this means teams on-hand around the world 24/7 to manage complex events, and for other executive support professionals it is simply having a corporate account to manage travel requirements from a smartphone or desktop. Quarterly reviews identify where Blacklane can best support your ways of working, and tackle business challenges – such as hitting emissions reduction targets – head on. We also provide 24/7 multi-lingual support via our concierge team tailored to our corporate partners.
There’s a lot going on in terms of Blacklane’s work with PAs and EAs – tell us more
We’ve recently enhanced the support on offer to executive support professionals. This includes new video guides that break down the basics of everything from setting up an account, to managing sustainability reporting. These ‘how to’ videos help PAs and EAs new to our services get up to speed quickly, and give regular Blacklane bookers tips on how to make the most of everything we offer.
We’ve also invested in a new option to book for someone else via the Blacklane app. This means it’s easy to add the guest’s name to a booking when on-the-go, and manage the expenses side of the booking seamlessly yourself while the guest receives the confirmations and arrivals information from the chauffeur directly. PAs and EAs tell us this is invaluable, speeding up processes and ensuring that a booker can have multiple guests set up on their profile making it simple to manage and amend many different journeys as plans change.
What else is new from Blacklane?
We’re continuing to expand and have recently opened operations in Romania and Kuwait, and in the UK we’ve added services to Leeds bolstering our strong operations across the north of England where we are already on offer in cities like Manchester and Newcastle.
In London we’ve reached a record milestone for the UK with 60 per cent of all Blacklane journeys in the capital now taking place in an electric vehicle (EV). We’re also rolling out electric vehicles in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia thanks to a new partnership with the Lucid Group, a manufacturer of advanced electric vehicles, as part of our commitment to greater sustainability.
We’ve listened to our EA and PA partners to provide a newly enhanced groups and events support service, on-hand 24/7 around the world. As well as bespoke pricing and logistics planning, the events team can deliver optional extras such as in-car branding, gifts and on-site coordination. It has been a popular service for conferences, leadership offsites, VIP occasions and corporate hospitality when extra attention to detail makes a real impact.
What services are the most popular for EAs and PAs to book?
All of them! Blacklane is known for airport transfers, especially when travelling internationally. When talking to EAs and PAs we also highlight the first mile of a journey so that they can ensure the leg from home or the office to the airport in the UK receives the same care and attention as transfers abroad.
We’re seeing an increase in EAs and PAs booking a chauffeur by-the-hour for staying on top of busy schedules packed with multiple meetings and events. The chauffeur stays with the guest for as long as is required and is ready and waiting at the end of each appointment.
Our longer distance city-to-city journeys are also popular. EAs and PAs often choose these options for their senior executives instead of short haul flights to save time and make a more sustainable choice. Booking Blacklane instead saves on security and waiting time at the airport, and the busy executive can work or rest on their journey with the knowledge that everything is confidential and no one can see their laptop or electronic device screen unlike on a flight or in an airport lounge.
In many cities we can provide long-range electric vehicles, meaning our corporate partners may increase their miles travelled by Blacklane, while also reducing their business travel emissions.
Where do we find out more?
Please visit blacklane.com/en/corporations
