Wheely launches its ‘New First Class’ chauffeur service in London
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You may know the name ‘Wheely’ from American Express Offers, where you will occasionally see a decent cashback deal appearing.
Wheely is a very upmarket version of Uber. Their lowest level of service is roughly equivalent to Uber Exec and there are additional levels on top.
If you are in London (or Paris or Dubai) and have the money for an app-based luxury chauffeur service then they are worth a look. You may find that any future Amex offer you are targeted for brings the price nearer to standard cab territory anyway.
The company has just launched a membership programme which is activated after you have taken 15 rides in a six month period.
One benefit of qualifying as a member is the ability to give three friends a free trial period of membership, which includes a free £100 ride credit. You also get access to features such as ‘Chauffeur for a Day’ and a concierge offering.
Most interestingly, you get access to New First Class. This is, almost certainly, the most exclusive ‘on demand’ app-based ride service in London. You can find more on the Wheely website here.
New First Class gets you a new Mercedes S-Class W223 at your door, with admittedly niche amenities such as FIJI Water, Oshibori refreshing towels, and an Acqua Di Parma car diffuser. You get the standard Wheely features too – disinfecting wipes, tissues, Lightning and USB-C chargers etc.
Wheely offered me a free trial trip in New First Class so I took it out to Heathrow on Tuesday. It was pitch black at 6.15am so I couldn’t get any decent photos – the PR photo above is accurate – but the W223 is a great car. For a tall guy like myself, the long wheelbase means that you get an astonishing amount of legroom at the back.
The only downside is that the car is so long that it was a very tight squeeze to get into the Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Wing at Heathrow Terminal 3. This has a ludicrously tight u-turn once you get past the barrier. Luckily the car got through unscathed.
This is obviously not the cheapest option to Heathrow (it would have been around £160 for me vs £75 in a standard Uber) but if total cost is not your criteria then it is worth a look. For now, you can’t book New First Class until you’ve done 15 rides in a six month period with Wheely, or unless an existing member refers you.
As it turned out, the airport ride was the only part of my day which went well. Virgin Atlantic had found a brand new way to screw up a trip, having swapped – overnight, not at the last minute – my A330neo for the (relatively speaking) heap of junk that is Upper Class on the A330-300. Despite this, the airline had issued boarding passes for a neo, which has a totally different seat layout, and didn’t notice until passengers were already on board. Total chaos and a lengthy delay ensued ….
Paul 
Daniel c 
Shaz 
Peter 
Rhys 
Alex Sm 
memesweeper 
Matthew 
Yorkieflyer 
Londonsteve 
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