Y Combinator alumnus FlightCar is expanding its operations with the launch of its third city location. The company today announced that Los Angeles would join Boston and San Francisco as cities where the company is bringing its airport car sharing service. This move comes as it launched a new mobile app to help its users better coordinate to find the right car and reducing waiting times.
As FlightCar marks its latest destination, the company shared that it had more than 3,500 total listings as of early November, with over 100 transactions per day “at peak”. It claims to have grown 40 percent this summer even amid lawsuits and competition from what it calls “copycats”.
The company believes it will avoid any legal complications in Los Angeles with its usage of local ground transportation companies (something that resulted in some trouble in San Francisco). Of course the recent regulatory policies put in place in California certainly helps.
In its effort to provide a unique twist to the launch, FlightCar is giving its rental customers in Los Angeles free Runa organic cold tease and energy drinks. They can also borrow over-the-ear headphones from LSTN.
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Prior to today, if a customer wanted to manage their listings or place a rental request, they needed to do it through the Web. Today the company is launching its new Web apps out of beta that will make it easier to reserve a vehicle from your mobile device. It will send you text messages when the app suspects you’ve arrived at the airport in order to download it, show you GPS coordinators of nearby FlightCars, and send information to easily rent a vehicle.
The app can be accessed by going to FlightCar’s website and will work on any mobile device with a browser on it.
See related: Airport car-sharing startup FlightCar will pay you up to $400 per month to rent out your car,
Photo credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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