Q&A with CheapOair
Posted September 30, 2009 , trackback
CheapOair - 300 million airfares and then some
Editor’s note: We were looking for some cheap airfares recently and came across the travel website CheapOair.com, which specializes in cheap airfares. We were intrigued, so we sent them some questions. Erin McBride, their Director of Social Marketing, was kind enough to reply.
Q: In a nutshell, what is CheapOair? How is it different from all the other airfare sites out there?
A: Casually speaking, CheapOair is an online travel discount retailer. We offer over 300 million airfares, all with a low airfare guarantee. We also sell hotel rooms and rental cars. We also just recently began offering train fares as well. We’re the #7 rated travel website according to Hitwise.com. And we have the technological foundation to deliver affordable tickets to every region in the world.
Q: 300 million airfares? Wow, that’s a lot. We’ve also noticed that, unlike some of the other air sites, you have great deals for off-the-beaten and far-flung path destinations such as India and the Philippines, as well as round-the-world tickets and tickets for students, seniors, etc. Where did you get all of these cheap airfares?
A: We negotiate fares with over 300 airlines, so we have an excellent selection of tickets for all types of travelers no matter where they’re going
Q: Who knew there were even 300 airlines in the world. So is there any cost to travelers for using your site?
A: Absolutely not. CheapOair is free to use. And in fact, we do not require memberships or subscriptions to use the site.
Q: What’s your most popular travel destination this week?
A: Orlando, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas - in that order. This is typical of most weeks. All three are major convention cities, as well as holiday destinations. Additionally, what Los Angeles lacks in vacation travel, it makes up for by being a major hub as a gateway to the Pacific.
Q: Do you think the “CheapO” model could be applied to other areas besides travel?
A: Selling travel products online requires a rather sophisticated search engine technology that is unique to the travel industry. Typically, offering and an airline ticket online from one city to another will search a myriad of airfare and routing options that are optimized to show best priced tickets. In addition, travel products such as airline tickets, hotel and car rental rates are dynamically priced and are subject to yield management objectives by the various providers. In other words, an airline ticket for the same routing and flight itinerary from A to B may have a price today that is different from a price two days later.
Q: Do you have easyjet-style aspirations to move into other areas?
A: No. We’re pretty focused on travel. We’d like to keep it that way.
-Viator Travel Team
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