rogik

Hey guys,

We are a startup out of SF working on a tool that will simplify connecting with other business class members and frequent flyers.

You would start by forwarding your ticket to our tool to authenticate your travel status. You will be notified of other frequent and business class flyers (with privacy controls) with their LinkedIn profile highlights and mutual interests.

Other things we are toying with:
- tinder-style interface to let you browse through people on your flight, "like" them and get mutually connected
- seat-map interface letting you know who you will be flying next to
- surfacing interesting travel facts for conversation starters
- curated suggestions of things to do during layovers
- social aspect around watching that Sox game in the lounge together over beers

Let us know what you think! It's totally okay to tell us it's stupid and we shouldnt be spending cycles on this!

Best,
Oleg & Eric

antichef

Welcome to FT, I see this is your first post and wondered if you had been a lurker here for any time before posting? I see you have had about 250 views over the last two days but no responses.

You wondered if it was worth the waste of cycles? Well I don't know whether I am the age and interest demographic that you are aiming at, although I am a frequent business flyer with top level in four airlines. Nothing you are toying with holds the slightest interest for me, so it may well be that the earlier viewers were even less interested to even send you a "welcome to FT" response before they moved on to another thread.

Best of luck.

rogik

Thank you for the opinion. We've built a tech that lets us utilize on-board wifi to create app-to-app connections between people who are on the same flight even if there is no internet connection. Hence, we are toying with different ideas of how to utilize that tech and social networking is one of them.

Clearly it didn't pass the test.

Thank you for response.

HMPS

My problem is why do I want you and others to know my movements away from home by giving you my ticket !

rogik

Well, you probably do it with your Tripit, Kayak, Orbitz, and couple other tools - why not one more?

One of the main ideas is the following:
Every time I fly in business I wonder, who are the people sitting next to me? Could I be of help? Could they be of help? Could they be selling something that I've been needing for a while for my business? Would they be an interesting connection, good friend at the same stage of life as I am, or a new customer?

I asked people sitting next to me in business at least 20-30 times and every time there was some degree of curiosity about others in the front of the plane.

Every time you are in business class, there is probably at least one person sitting within 10 feet from you that could be of immense potential for your business. All it takes is a relevant intro and a mutually beneficial conversation will be started.

Business class seating is a basic yet very powerful filter, allowing you to trust the person next to you from the get go - you know they likely mean business.

Hence, we are thinking what kind of tool/functionality [opt-in only], will allow to create this trusted social layer on every flight. We want to find a way to meet people in an unobtrusive manner and turn every flight into a platform to exchange ideas, connections, and make some money.

Imagine having a real money ROI on every business class upgrade you buy? No more looks and emails from your HR! :-)

Let me know what you think guys! I know this sounds cheesy and I'm not sure I would be happy about someone next to me yapping at me the whole flight. However, I believe that this could create value with a right balance of privacy, opt-outs, and smart technology.

HMPS

OK
A. I do not use any of the above services.

B. Yourbidea / explanation has merit. I would try it when it somes online. maybe add a luggage tag a la Flyertalk ?

rogik

Great idea re luggage tag as a conversation starter! Thank you!

Any more thoughts from actual travelers would be greatly appreciated!

jediwho

The idea is pretty awesome actually and am surprised no one thought about it before. I have always wondered who is sitting next to me, who else on the flight is in my profession, etc.

Besides pulling linkedin profiles, you could also customize interests, etc. Also, TWTR maybe an option where you can not only pull TWTR feeds but guage interest and then customize it further.

Also, add a feature where one could ping/chat with the traveler one is interested.

Your biggest challenge would be getting critical mass, for which you would need to first establish credibility -- pretty much the same challenge any social media poses -- Google+ is way better than FB in almost every aspect, but FB has more user and hence more successful.

ysolde

Do you want honesty here, or do you want people to blow smoke up your . . . ?

I'm a woman, I've been a high frequency business traveler (always in F, including international F), and, while I now refer to myself as a housewife for ease, I am also a landlady, so I guess you could refer to me as a small business owner. I still travel exclusively in domestic F and international J.

All of that said, your description serves only to reinforce the worst stereotypes of "businessmen" and what they do. Drink beer? Talk about the Sox? I have no interest in either, thank you. Red wine, perhaps, or a cup of tea (depending on the time of day). Even champagne. And I am happy to discuss the Junior League, the ABT, the Met and the Neue Gallerie.

Watching baseball in an airport lounge with a stranger as he burps over his beer because someone paid him to fly in business class? This is what your service has to offer? I'll pass. You might find a better elevator pitch . . .

jediwho

Business class and even frequent flyers is a great filer. It's hard to find a better filter than say Centurion card holders. I doubt I will be concerned about someone next to me yapping in the flight because he discovered me through your app than some random stranger sitting next to me and yapping nonsense.

Optional

seen a few of these social seating things come and go. i was always intrigued by the idea and even started working on something similar a few years ago, but an aircraft isn't like a bar -- you're pretty well stuck in the seat you booked, and these days most J and F cabins are designed for privacy, not interaction with your neighbor (i go out of my way to fly F suites or in J cabins with a 1-2-1 config on longhauls). also, assume some decent percentage of the cabin has no interest in interacting with anybody but the FAs because they just want to pop an xanax and take a nap. i haven't flown intl Y in years, but maybe that is/would be more social/easier to get traction? domestic F might be different, too, but then on all except for some select routes you've got maybe 20% of the cabin on a paid F ticket (could be more or less), the rest being upgrades for statuses potentially as low as silver, so the filter kinda breaks down. not that silver status means nothing, but it's less of a filter than say shelling out $2k for a transcon F ticket.

for me persoally i'd like to know who i might want to *avoid* on my flight (loud talkers, drunks), but even then last-min seat changes can be impossible to make, sadly. and if i wanted to find someone to talk to i would probably just hit tinder...

anyway, have you guys pitched to any investors or accelerators with ties to the travel space? i'd be curious to hear their thoughts.

Sounder

I think you are taking OP's example far too literally. Just as there are plenty of business travelers who would enjoy having a beer and watching the game (myself included), the app could also connect cranky businesswomen who want to drink wine and complain about men together as well.

OP, your initial pitch had me thinking "meh", but as you elaborated more I became marginally more interested. It's an interesting idea, and I could see myself using it if there were actually a decent userbase. The problem is, there's already countless social media apps out there that have tried similar concepts and failed spectacularly, so you're going to have to come up with something that really makes it worthwhile for the average traveler to want to put any effort into.

I do appreciate the idea that business class is a good filter, I would certainly agree there, but at the same time that may be unnecessarily limiting your user base. Perhaps you could also come up with a way to permit access with anyone who has elite status with an airline? Something that would still keep the userbase business traveler focused without needlessly limiting your audience.

MSPeconomist

Flying in business class or first class is less of a fliter than it once was with more airlines selling cheap upgrades, including to nonelites.

Tennet1979

You forgot miles junkies. Or are they beyond your 'filter'.

jediwho

I doubt rogik is even on FT anymore. He has not responded to any suggestions or comments for more than a week.