No repositioning cost
The customer makes the very move that rivals pay drivers to make. We skip the deadhead trip — the biggest one-way cost — so there's nothing punitive to pass on.
We turned the one-way problem upside down
Waylaid is the London car-hire company built around one idea: you drive the route our fleet already needs to go — into the airports — so we skip the costly repositioning rivals charge you for, and hand you the saving. One-way airport hire, without the one-way fee.
Our story
A fee we couldn't stop thinking about
Conventional rental firms lose money on one-way hires. Cars pile up at drop-off points, so the firm pays drivers to make costly "deadhead" trips — fuel, time and wages — just to rebalance the fleet. That cost lands on the customer as a punitive one-way fee, often £50–£150 on top of the hire.
We thought there was a smarter way round it. The fleet is always being pulled in one direction anyway: from scattered London locations into the airports, where rental demand is highest — arriving travellers and business hires. So in 2021 we founded Waylaid in London to specialise in exactly that direction. The paying one-way customer repositions the vehicle for free, we skip the single biggest one-way cost, and we pass the saving straight back. Same car, your own schedule, all your luggage — minus the fee.
Waylaid Mobility Ltd · founded 2021 · head office at 14 Kingsway, Holborn, London WC2B 6LH · BVRLA member no. 9912.
The saving, so far
£3.2m
Saved for customers versus rivals' one-way fees since 2021
- No one-way fee, ever — the part rivals charge most for is the part we removed.
- One-way hire from 10 London hubs to all 6 London airports.
- Insurance, the airport drop and unlimited mileage all included.
The model
Four reasons we can charge less and still stack up
A fairer price isn't a loss-leader or a gimmick — it's how the business actually works. Here are the four pillars that let us drop the one-way fee for good.
Double utilisation
A car earns on the outbound leg into the airport, then is immediately re-rented to inbound travellers arriving there. One vehicle, two paying legs.
Fair, convenience-premium pricing
We price well below rivals' one-way fees — and often less than a one-way taxi, for a whole car, all your luggage and your own schedule. No surge, no hidden extras.
B2B volume
Corporate travel, relocation and fleet deals add predictable, higher-margin volume — one invoice, agreed rates — so consumer prices stay keen too.
Waylaid by the numbers
Built quietly, proven in the real world
Since 2021, the model has done what it set out to do — moved tens of thousands of travellers for less, with a greener fleet and a rating we're proud of.
47,000+
One-way journeys completed
£3.2m
Saved vs rivals' one-way fees
38%
Of the fleet electric or hybrid
4.8/5
Average rating, 2,400+ reviews
What we value
The principles behind every booking
We're a small team with strong opinions about how car hire should feel: honest pricing, a quick clean booking, lighter miles, and a real person when you need one.
Fair by default
No one-way fee, no hidden extras, no surge pricing. The price you're quoted includes the insurance and the airport drop, and you can cancel free up to 24 hours before pickup.
Simple & fast
Pick your London hub, pick your airport, pick up and drive. A quote takes seconds and the booking just a few more — no queue, no upsell, no small print designed to trip you up.
Greener miles
38% of the fleet is electric or hybrid and growing, and we route to cut empty repositioning trips — so the same journey carries fewer wasted miles.
Always answer the phone
A flight moves, plans change. Our team is on +44 20 3984 2200, and roadside assistance is genuinely 24/7 on +44 20 3984 2222 — a person, not a maze of menus.
Sustainability
A model that's lighter on the planet by design
Our whole reason for being — making the customer's leg the one the fleet already needed — cuts the empty "deadhead" repositioning trips that other firms drive every day. Fewer wasted miles is baked into how Waylaid works, not bolted on afterwards.
- 38% electric or hybrid — and rising as we renew the fleet.
- Carbon-aware routing pairs outbound and inbound legs to cut empty miles.
- Electric options from £55 one-way — a Tesla Model 3 or similar.
38%
Of the Waylaid fleet is now electric or hybrid
Because the paying customer drives the repositioning leg, a Waylaid journey replaces a trip a rival would otherwise have driven empty. The greenest mile is the one nobody has to drive twice.
Who we are
The team
A London team from airline revenue management, fleet operations and product — brought together to make one-way airport hire genuinely fair.
AO
Amara Okafor
Founder & CEO — ex-airline revenue management. Spotted the one-way fee for what it was and built Waylaid to remove it.
DW
Daniel Whitfield
Co-founder & COO — ex-fleet operations. Runs the moving parts so every car is where it's needed, when it's needed.
PN
Priya Nair
Chief Technology Officer. Builds the booking and routing engine that turns "your leg is our leg" into a quote in seconds.
TB
Tom Bennett
Head of Business Accounts. Looks after corporate travel, relocation and fleet deals — one invoice, agreed rates.
SM
Sofia Marchetti
Head of Customer Experience. Makes sure that when a flight moves or a plan changes, a real person picks up.
JO
James Okoye
Head of Fleet & Sustainability. Greens the fleet and cuts empty miles — already 38% electric or hybrid and climbing.
Careers at Waylaid
Help us make one-way hire the fair option
We're a growing London team that prizes plain dealing, sharp operations and a genuinely better experience for travellers. If removing pointless fees and cutting empty miles sounds like your kind of problem, we'd love to hear from you.
We hire across operations, fleet, technology, customer experience and business accounts. Even if there's no role listed today, send us a line about what you do best — good people find a home here.
- Holborn head office, with hybrid working.
- A small team where your work is visible and matters.
- A clear mission: fair, simple, greener car hire.
Where we're growing
- Fleet & sustainability
- Engineering & product
- Customer experience
- Business accounts
Press
Waylaid in the news
Writing about fair travel, the end of the one-way fee, or greener car hire? We're happy to help with comment, data and interviews.
TravelWeekly
CityAM
The Drum
BusinessTravel News
AutoExpress
Press enquiries: press@Waylaidcarhire.co.uk
Ready to skip the one-way fee?
Pick your London pickup and your airport — a quote takes seconds, with no one-way fee and free cancellation up to 24 hours before pickup.