TRAVEL technology startup Seatfrog has teamed up with Amadeus Next to develop a mobile platform allowing customers to purchase flight ancillaries in the 48-hour window before departure.
Once developed, it will allow travellers to transparently bid and pay for an upgrade in real-time, and receive a new boarding pass directly on their smartphone to scan at the gate. Travellers can choose to do this right up to the last minute of their departure time.
No launch date for Seatfrog on mobile has been given.
Recent research by Amadeus suggests that airlines should focus their efforts on mobile-first strategies within 48 hours of a flight, as it is the peak of a passenger’s intent for ancillaries.
“Seatfrog has aligned today’s always-connected mobile passengers with the challenge faced by airlines around the globe – selling seats that would otherwise fly empty, at the exact time that passengers think about upgrades,” said Simon Akeroyd, vice president, corporate strategy and business development at Amadeus Asia-Pacific.
The Amadeus partnership provides Seatfrog access to the travel solutions giant’s global customer base of more than 130 airlines as well as access to Amadeus technology.
“The team at Amadeus really understood the challenge facing airline partners and worked with Seatfrog to solve many of the friction points that stand in the way of the deployment of an effective ancillary revenue strategy,” said CEO and co-founder of Seatfrog, Iain Griffin.
“Ultimately, our platform is bringing a new level of intelligence to market in delivering the right product, in the right channel at the right time.”
