Routehappy Aims To Make Passengers Happier
Booking flights is essentially the same from one online travel agency to another online travel agency. There are some unique online travel agencies, such as Hipmunk, but now Routehappy has entered the fray with a different approach.
Routehappy’s goal is unique, to assist travelers in choosing their flights based on the quality or experience of the flight, as well as the price.
Routehappy’s default flight display is not based on the usual lowest fare, it is based on the “Happiest” flight, showing flights in descending order based on their happy factor. Yes, users can choose flights by lowest fare, fastest routing and other usual options … but if you are using Routehappy you should be prepared to search by the happiest flight. Happy flights are based upon aircraft, seat space, in-flight entertainment, wifi, AC power and the user experiences of the flight
Out of the gate, Routehappy has the support of a number of airlines, as it allows the airlines to differentiate themselves and their products. With most online travel agency booking sites airfares most often come down to the lowest fare, while Routehappy allows airlines to promote their in-flight experience to capture travelers.
Routehappy is not just breaking the mold of online travel agencies when comes to how it displays flights, the booking site also allows travelers to rate flights and provide their comments from each flight. Through the Routehappy is building a community with route experts and linking customer’s flight experience with those looking to book flights.
On a long flight, wouldn’t you rather pay $50 more for a better flight experience? Routehappy is betting you would.
Happy Flying!
i see the flaw with this model is that if customers rate an airline poorly, the airline would want to withdraw from participation from this OTA, weakening the premise of the “fair evaluation”
and unlike a major OTA like Orbitz or Expedia, the airline would lose minimal sales by not participating with RH (when balanced against reputational risk)
Thanks, Fish! We’re so glad you like Routehappy. We know there’s a great opportunity for people to fly better, even paying less or the same. It’s not always about the incremental upgrades — it’s about being an informed traveler who can make accurate decisions across airlines.
I actually wrote about this the other day on our blog. From LAX to Miami over Memorial Day Weekend, American Airlines is actually cheaper than Spirit, for a miles better experience.
Jackie, I wanted to reassure you that our ratings are never influenced by commercial considerations like airlines not liking their scores. We have a full wall between me as Director of Data and the commercial side of the business, to start off with — but I can say that we are being approached by a number of airlines who would like to work more closely with us on the data side rather than stepping away.
For airlines, they’re trying to differentiate themselves in a number of ways, and we know that we can help them with that. Routehappy is a win-win for passengers and for airlines!