SAN FRANCISCO, CA — (Marketwire) — 03/06/13 — GetGoing, the new travel site dedicated to saving money for flexible travelers, today announced that it is coming out of “invite only” mode with direct access at . GetGoing is revolutionizing travel with its platform, which rewards travelers with up to 40% off airfare by proving that they-re traveling for leisure. This ability to identify the specific type of traveler that is booking on GetGoing also provides airlines with a new, targeted revenue stream.
“Nearly one in five seats on all flights worldwide are empty, and we view that as a huge opportunity for more people to get out and see the world. So we decided to help flexible leisure travelers get great deals on these open seats by proving that they are actually traveling for leisure,” said Alek Vernitsky, Co-Founder and CEO of GetGoing. “Our Pick Two, Get One system also provides a new incremental revenue stream — verified leisure travelers — for airlines, while ensuring that existing revenue from business travelers and less flexible leisure travelers is not disrupted.”
Through its existing airline relationships, GetGoing is currently flying to hundreds of major airports in over 50 countries worldwide. The company also announced today that it has tripled its departure airports in the United States. GetGoing is currently serving 80% of the population of the top 100 major metro areas, and is rapidly expanding its airline relationships and inventory of flights to cover more areas on a rolling basis.
1. The GetGoing platform allows customers to search not only by specific destinations, but also by the type of trip they want to go on (e.g., a trip to the beach, European vacation, etc.). GetGoing searches hundreds of destinations — taking into account season, length of trip, and more — to discover the best options and deals for each traveler.
2. The traveler selects two ideal destinations from an array of deeply discounted options. GetGoing lets people compare prices with the other travel sites in real time. Travelers can select specific dates and flight times, so they know exactly what their trip will look like before they book. Then GetGoing decides which of the two selected trips they-ll go on, books the trip, and instantly shows the traveler their final itinerary.
3. GetGoing-s Pick Two, Get One platform provides great rates to travelers, as long as they can be validated as flexible leisure travelers. That-s why GetGoing makes the final selection. After all, business travelers need to go to a specific location and can-t leave their final destination up to GetGoing. If they need to be in London for meetings, they wouldn-t risk ending up in Rome.
Using GetGoing, leisure travelers are rewarded with the best prices on flights for being flexible on their destination. For example, if a traveler is seeking a beach vacation and is willing to go to either Barbados OR Aruba, significant savings can be discovered. Or if they want a European vacation and would like to visit either Paris OR Rome — they can save big on GetGoing. A little flexibility can save a lot of money.
In addition to finding the biggest discounts on the destinations leisure travelers are considering, GetGoing also identifies many additional locations to discover, like Pandora for travel. The traveler tells GetGoing the type of destination or experience they want to have, and GetGoing helps discover other destinations they may like.
GetGoing provides airlines with a new, unique customer segmentation tool that enables the airlines to target discounts only to flexible leisure travelers. This introduces a new revenue stream for airlines, without disrupting existing revenue sources. GetGoing is a technology platform that works seamlessly with airlines- existing pricing and distribution systems, so the airlines get a new tool in their arsenal for more effective, targeted online sales.
GetGoing shares its extensive data with participating airlines, giving airlines additional tools to analyze what would work best for their routes and inventory. GetGoing also uses both historical data from the airlines as well as customer-provided data to personalize destination recommendations for travelers. For example, if a customer takes an annual trip to a beach destination, GetGoing can suggest relevant locations and attractive deals.
“The GetGoing model will appeal to airlines because it provides tremendous revenue upside without disrupting their existing revenue segments,” said former airline industry executive and current industry advisor Al Lenza. “This offering is structured in a way that produces incremental revenue for the industry, and does so with an airline-friendly distribution model.”
While industry load factors have been running at historical highs, there remains a significant opportunity. Department of Transportation Statistics show that US carriers fly at an average 82% capacity, and international carriers are flying with an average 79% capacity. That results in approximately 160M seats a year domestically and over 300M seats internationally that are not filled — representing an estimated $25 billion in unsold seats in the US and $50 billion in unsold seats globally each year. GetGoing-s goal is to help airlines fill those seats by helping the flexible traveler not only find those seats, but save money when they book them.
GetGoing is now open for all travelers via , enabling them to begin searching and booking trips immediately.
GetGoing is making it easier and more affordable for flexible travelers to discover and book their next trip. With an average of one out of every five airplane seats going unsold worldwide, GetGoing enables flexible travelers to easily find and book those seats at a significant discount, while helping airlines profitably fill empty seats.
GetGoing is a Y Combinator company based in San Francisco, and is backed by a number of prominent venture capital and private equity funds. For more information, please visit , follow us on Twitter @GetGoingTravel () or on Facebook: .
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Robb Henshaw
VP of Communications
GetGoing.com
(415) 906-3837
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