Airlines Are Backing Volantio (YC W09), a Startup That Could Fix Overbooking
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Re: Airlines Are Backing Volantio (YC W09), a Startup That Could Fix Overbooking
#2While this is a step in the right direction it just serves to show how far behind airline companies are in terms of tech.
Swapping out passengers on the fly and handing out virtual miles in exchange is seen as "innovative technology"?
Hopefully this will pave the way for technological disruption in the airline business.
Re: Airlines Are Backing Volantio (YC W09), a Startup That Could Fix Overbooking
#3While this is a step in the right direction it just serves to show how far behind airline companies are in terms of tech. Swapping out passengers on the fly and handing out virtual miles in exchange is seen as "innovative technology"? Hopefully this will pave the way for technological disruption in the airline business.
That's a broad brush. Airlines aren't all at the same point in dealing with overbooking.
It's also not a trivial issue given the slim margins and complexity. Consider connecting flights, different fare types (refundable or not, advance purchase, etc). Also, differing aircraft types, how many seats they have, and which crews are qualified to fly them. Oh, and weather.
If you think the root cause is "airline IT is incompetent", you're probably off base. Google paid $700M for a crazy talented company (stuffed full of PhD genius level talent) that did a good job of solving shopping, but failed commercially at solving booking.
Re: Airlines Are Backing Volantio (YC W09), a Startup That Could Fix Overbooking
#4Just FYI, if you get asked to swap, there's no guarantee you get the same plane type.
I opted to switch in exchange for $300, but the plane was an older 737, down from a 787.
Re: Airlines Are Backing Volantio (YC W09), a Startup That Could Fix Overbooking
#5I'm surprised that airlines wouldn't/couldn't build this functionality themselves.
Does anyone here have insight into the 'buy vs. build' decision that any of these airlines went through in adopting this company's services?
Re: Airlines Are Backing Volantio (YC W09), a Startup That Could Fix Overbooking
#6Just FYI, if you get asked to swap, there's no guarantee you get the same plane type. I opted to switch in exchange for $300, but the plane was an older 737, down from a 787.
Is 300 dollars not worth the downgrade? That’s also a pretty small amount of money to accept to switch. Holding out would get you more, or force someone else to take it.
Re: Airlines Are Backing Volantio (YC W09), a Startup That Could Fix Overbooking
#7Just FYI, if you get asked to swap, there's no guarantee you get the same plane type. I opted to switch in exchange for $300, but the plane was an older 737, down from a 787.
Is 300 dollars not worth the downgrade? That’s also a pretty small amount of money to accept to switch. Holding out would get you more, or force someone else to take it.
Considering I don't fly much, not really. 787 vs. 737 is also worlds apart in terms of comfort (both flights were first class).
The certificate they give you is valid for a year.
Re: Airlines Are Backing Volantio (YC W09), a Startup That Could Fix Overbooking
#8I'm surprised that airlines wouldn't/couldn't build this functionality themselves. Does anyone here have insight into the 'buy vs. build' decision that any of these airlines went through in adopting this company's services?
i've always had the same question about Uber (re the convenience of using an app to hail and pay)
Re: Airlines Are Backing Volantio (YC W09), a Startup That Could Fix Overbooking
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is 300 dollars not worth the downgrade? That’s also a pretty small amount of money to accept to switch. Holding out would get you more, or force someone else to take it.
Considering I don't fly much, not really. 787 vs. 737 is also worlds apart in terms of comfort (both flights were first class). The certificate they give you is valid for a year.
I won’t disagree about the comfort but man they got you. Should never accept a certificate, especially that low for first class. Next time just hold out. I’ve had it happen twice now and both times were close to 1k in certs.
Re: Airlines Are Backing Volantio (YC W09), a Startup That Could Fix Overbooking
#10>Volantio’s solution: Gather non-identifiable data about purchasing behaviors to learn what type of consumer is more likely to accept what type of offer.
Call me a skeptic as much as you want, but the "non-identifiable data", must somehow end up being identifiable, or at least the passenger will be personally tagged as "type A", "type B", Type C", etc. in order to propose him/her the "best deal".