Book your chauffeur

Enter your pickup and drop-off (or choose hourly), the date and time, and your flight number for airport pickups, which lets dispatch track the flight and time your chauffeur to the real landing. Choose the vehicle, add meet and greet or child seats if you need them (add-ons are only available in selected locations) and confirm. Your chauffeur's name, mobile number and vehicle arrive before the pickup. Not sure which vehicle? See the fleet and how fares work.

How to book, step by step

A BlaakLane.com booking takes a few minutes on the reservation engine above, and the fare you see before you confirm is the fare for the trip you described. Here is each step, and what to have ready.

1. Choose the type of trip. Point to point for a single journey from one address to another, including airport transfers; hourly when you want the car and chauffeur on hand for meetings, a shopping day or an event. Hourly bookings have a minimum of three hours.
2. Enter the pickup and drop-off. Use a full street address, a hotel name or an airport. For an airport, choose the airport rather than a street address; the chauffeur meets you at the airport's designated commercial or pre-arranged pickup area, which is the standard pickup.
3. Add the flight number. For every airport pickup, give the airline and flight number exactly as it appears on your ticket. Dispatch tracks the flight and times the chauffeur to the actual landing, so a delay or an early arrival does not cost you waiting time.
4. Choose the date and time. For airport pickups, enter the scheduled landing time; for departures, the time you want to leave the hotel or office.
5. Choose the vehicle. Match the class to the passengers and, just as important, to the luggage (see the table below).
6. Add what you need. Child seats are free on request in most cities. Meet and greet in the arrivals hall with a name board, and other add-ons, are only available in selected locations; the engine shows what can be added for your pickup.
7. Check the fare and confirm. The fixed fare appears before you confirm: no meter, no surge. Pay by card, or book on a corporate account for monthly invoicing.
8. Receive the chauffeur details. The chauffeur's name, mobile number and vehicle are sent before pickup. Outside the home dispatch area, the confirmation also names the local affiliate operator.

Which vehicle to choose

Seat and bag numbers are the comfortable maximum. Two passengers with four large suitcases will not fit a sedan; book the SUV. A Rolls-Royce or Bentley, an armoured vehicle or a coach is arranged on request through vetted partners, with the details confirmed in writing. See the fleet for photos and details.

Hourly bookings

Choose hourly when the chauffeur needs to wait between stops or when the day's plan may change: a roadshow, a site visit, a wedding or a day in the wine country. The minimum is three hours. Tell dispatch the first pickup address and time, and add the rough plan for the day in the notes. See the hourly chauffeur service page for how the time is counted.

Waiting time included

• International arrivals: 60 minutes from the actual landing time.
• Domestic flights: 30 minutes from the actual landing time.
• All other pickups (hotels, offices, homes, stations, ports): 15 minutes.

After the included time, waiting is charged in 15-minute blocks.

What the fare covers, and what is added at cost

The fixed fare covers the chauffeur, the vehicle and fuel for the trip you booked; local taxes are shown on their own line where they apply. Gratuity, airport, port or station parking and congestion or low-emission zone charges (such as London's Congestion Charge and ULEZ, set by Transport for London, or Milan's Area C) are not included in the fare. Each is added to the booking at the amount actually paid. The rates page explains how fares are built and gives planning ranges.

Changing or cancelling a booking

Change a booking by replying to your confirmation or by contacting the desk. Cancellation charges are measured from the scheduled pickup time:

• More than 72 hours before pickup: no charge.
• 72 hours or less: 10 % of the reserved services.
• 48 hours or less: 50 %.
• 24 hours or less, or a no-show: 100 %.

Some major events, holidays and large conventions carry a different deadline, and when they do it is stated on the confirmation. The full wording is in the terms.

Bookings a coordinator plans with you

Crew changes, roadshows, delegations, weddings with several cars, armoured vehicles, coaches and other multi-vehicle programmes are planned by a coordinator and confirmed in writing, rather than booked in one step on the engine. Contact the desk with the dates, times, addresses, passenger numbers and any flight or vessel details. Companies that book often should open a corporate account for traveller profiles, cost centres and monthly invoicing.

Before you confirm: a short checklist

• The pickup date is the local date at the pickup city, especially for overnight flights.
• The flight number is correct, including the airline code.
• The vehicle has room for every bag, and for any child seat you need.
• The lead passenger's mobile number works abroad, so the chauffeur can reach them.
• Any special instruction, such as a gate code or a hotel entrance, is in the notes.

Booking a ride to the airport

For a departure, the pickup time is the time you want to leave, not the flight time. Work backwards from the airline's recommended check-in or bag-drop cut-off, add the drive time shown on the city or airport page, and add a margin for traffic at that hour. Airports with long security queues, or international terminals where you must clear exit immigration, need more margin than a domestic hop. Give the departing flight number too: it tells dispatch which terminal to drop you at.

Return trips and multi-leg itineraries

Book the outbound and the return together when you know both, so both legs sit under one itinerary and the return is timed to your inbound flight. For a multi-city trip, book each city's legs on the same account; the confirmation for each leg names the chauffeur and, outside the home dispatch area, the affiliate operator. Travel managers can book several travellers at once on a corporate account.

Paying and receipts

Pay by card on the reservation engine, or by monthly invoice on a corporate account. The currency is the one shown when you book. Anything charged at actual cost after the trip, such as airport parking, a congestion charge or extra waiting in 15-minute blocks, is added to the booking, so the receipt shows the fare and each addition separately.

Booking for a child

Child seats are free on request in most cities. When you book, give each child's age and weight, and say whether you need an infant seat, a convertible seat or a booster, so the right seat is fitted before the car arrives. Count the seat as taking a passenger place when you choose the vehicle.