A little more than a year ago, I swapped my NYCAviation editor hat for a new hat at a travel startup called Routehappy.com. Since then, the team at Routehappy has been working day in and day out to help passengers find the happiest flights on a global scale. Today, I want to share the company’s next big step that we believe will help every passenger find the best possible experience, every time. I think you’ll love it.
Starting this week, all users of the flight search site Expedia will benefit from full use of Routehappy’s Scores and Happiness Factors, beginning a partnership we are incredibly proud of. Expedia has long been regarded one of the web’s most powerful travel booking sites; to Expedia’s airline flight capabilities, Routehappy now provides individual flight rankings down to the subfleet level, taking into account seat pitch, width, configuration, aircraft type, entertainment type, wifi availability and a wide variety of other amenities.
On every Expedia flight search, you will now see what Expedia calls a superlative, ranging from “Excellent Flight” to “Good Flight” and all the way down to “Low Rated Flight.” You may also see an accompanying numerical ranking along the superlative. This all sounds great, but let’s take a look at what you will actually see on any given flight search.
In this example flight search from Los Angeles to Tokyo, the least expensive options turn out to be some less than ideal flights. At the higher end of the spectrum, there are two direct flights on both American and United, but subtle amenity differences between the two identically priced flights set them apart. For the aviation geeks out there, the United flight is operated on a brand new Boeing 787 with a state-of-the-art entertainment system, large windows, and much more, while the American flight is operated on a soon to be (but not quite yet) refurbished 777-200ER.
Even within a single airline on a single route, finding the best flight can be a daunting task. At United, there are no fewer than 13 Boeing 737 subfleets. Routehappy has gone through all the data and ranked each and every version to score it appropriately.
These are just a couple of the many examples Routehappy shows that helps each and every passenger find his perfect flight. Whether it’s avoiding a 10-abreast configured 777 or finding that one international flight of many that offers wifi, Routehappy wants to help you find your perfect flight.
We have lots more exciting features in store for the industry in the near future as we shift from having the data on our own site to getting Scores and Happiness Factors on other major travel sites. We really hope you like our new partnership with Expedia. We may not be able to get you that coveted upgrade to business class, but we can help you secure the best flight for your money.
Jason Rabinowitz is a true #AvGeek who researches topics about airlines, airplanes and travel. He has become especially adept at reviewing IFEC systems and other inflight products, and is Routehappy’s Data Research Manager. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @AirlineFlyer
This is not a sponsored article, but a welcome delivery of news from former Editor Jason Rabinowitz and our friends at Routehappy. -Phil
