The easiest way to give a trip
That is the goal of sky hour , a new application designed to simplify the process of give away a flight . released on October 23 with the support (and business guidance) of JetBlue Technology Ventures , the corporate pillar of JetBlue Airways , the platform aspires to make both giving and receiving flights a simple and fast process.
The origin of the story will surely sound familiar to anyone who has tried to book a flight for someone else. It was at that precise moment when the co-founder of the company (and CEO), Fernando Camara , tried to book a flight for a friend, only to find himself in the middle of a cumbersome process. Since he had to know the exact passport of his friend, as well as the airport of origin, destination and dates, “It was impossible to make him this surprise” , Câmara tells Condé Nast Traveler USA .
The flight coupons , he says, have "many limitations"; it is almost impossible, for example, to transfer funds from one airline to another. The third option, frequent flyer programs , it's not much better either: there's usually a hefty fee (or a percentage of your points) charged when you transfer your accumulated miles to someone else.
So he and his partner, the co-founder David Noguera , worked to develop the best way to gift flight hours, limiting both the number of clicks and headaches.
The process is fairly simple: you can use the free app or the website to gift skyhours . You select the number of hours and send them to whoever you want through the app, email or even SMS.
The recipient can then search for flights directly on the Skyhour platform and since the company has partnered with more than 350 international airlines around the world, almost any option is possible. The platform, which accepts any type of credit card, discounts the hours given.
You don't need to sign up with Skyhour to gift flight hours (great when you're rushing to that birthday and forgot to buy the gift), but you do need to create an account to require gifted flight hours , and create a profile with your personal data (name, email account, age) and your passport information. Receivers can then use the hours at your free choice and... presto! They go to Mexico. Fortunately, for those of us who still know what we want for our birthday (hey, six months isn't that far off), too you can ask for hours.
One question: the default installed mode of Skyhour will show you only the flights you can afford with the accumulated money (although fortunately it doesn't affect connecting flights) , so if you're interested in a more expensive flight, you have the option to add some of your own money to make a difference . Can s reset the value to view flights in a higher price range.
The concept of one hour flight for $60 It may sound arbitrary, but it really makes sense. Using **technology from Saber**, an airline data monitoring firm, Nogueira and Camara analyzed more than fifteen years of flight reservations to conclude that for 95% of flights, the hourly cost of time spent in the air does turn out to be $60, and so was born... a ' sky hour '.
The number also fits into this concept in another way: the service tries not to show flights that cost more than $60 per hour , like, say, a last-minute to London. if you use sky hours for these flights, you will surely have to pay a considerable surcharge.
If the price of the flight we choose turns out to be less than $60 per hour (compared to the 'real' hours of the flight), you will have to pay full price, as indicated by the airline, and sometimes more - but a portion of the difference will be paid to you in Skyhour as 'Sky credits' . The reason, according to its founders, is to "create brand loyalty by spreading profits over the cost of the flight." And frankly, that sounds like a good deal. When was the last time an airline basically gave you some of your money back for booking through them?
As with any new service, however, there are still a few issues that need to be resolved. The platform will not show you all the flights, especially those offered by low cost airlines like Norwegian or WOW. Some of these private rates they are exclusive , and are not available for the Global Distribution System (or GDS).
A comparison shopping we did (from the writing of Condé Nast Traveler USA) for flights between Newark and London showed us an interesting discovery: a trip booked through Skyhour with British Airways was slightly more expensive (about $890, plus an hour and a half, $90 in 'sky credits') than booking it through, say, GoogleFlights , which quoted a starting price of $750, also with British Airways.
However, the company's founders have made it clear that Skyhour is not a game to find the best bargain in the market . In return, you're paying a luxury tax to use it, slightly offset by the gift you've received (and the credits you'll be able to use on your next flight). Also, there is no functionality to add friends, or any kind of network, such as you can find on Snapchat or Venmo.
Right now you can download the apps with iOS (they are still working on the Android version, which is expected to arrive sometime in 2018), or by visiting skyhour.com . with a few swipes, now you can help someone fly anywhere... and vice versa (as long as you agree to pay a little extra for **a gift that will keep on giving)**.
*** Content originally published on Condé Nast Traveler USA **