pinniped

First of all, there's basically a zero percent chance that Southwest is going to partner with this. Even if the lawyers say they aren't liable for axe murderers, if a bad experience reaches the media the general PR angle will be that Southwest facilitates creepers, doesn't take customer privacy seriously, etc. The bad PR will stick to the brand people know - Southwest. Airlines and dating services should probably stay in their own lanes. There's no financial upside for WN. At all.

Second of all, the only price point at which I'd even think about using this is $0. I honestly don't know what the real business model is to try to run something like this for profit, but me entering a credit card on the infinitesimal chance that this app pairs me with someone I fall in love with is simply never going to happen. I'm not sure I'd even give a third-party app my logins to Southwest and LinkedIn for free.

Finally, people in group A mostly have their ideas, opinions, and strategies for where they like to sit. They fall in two camps, usually: one, they want to sit in a "prime" seat like the front or the exit row, and shouldn't be saving seats, or two, they're headed to SFC precisely because they don't want anyone next to them. Neither camp is likely to use this app, and the B/C people aren't even going to know this app exists.

Sorry. I know it's a tough crowd. Airport and/or lounge meetup apps make slightly more sense, I guess, but I do not use any of those either. Usually as a solo traveler I just want quiet and (usually) the ability to do some work.

LegalTender

The CEO's LinkedIn page cites "skills include being an Intellectual Property Attorney."

Getty Images has little redress on use of their images, either.

But controlling the "overall customer experience" is very much Southwest's prerogative.

Seat Amigo

Pinniped,

Thanks for your comments. I won't try to dissuade you from your opinions but I will give you some facts that you seem to have gotten wrong.

1. As an attorney, all the things you said about a bad experience can happen ANYWAY - regardless of where and when I met the person sitting next to me. This is NOT a dating service. Again, you may be right or you may be wrong about partnering, I will let you know after those conversations with Southwest.

2. Again, not a dating service. I think you've misconstrued what this app is about. Also, we don't require any login for Southwest or LinkedIn, not sure where you got that?

3. As an A-Lister for many years you're right, I do know where I want to sit and have my "strategy". But I don't control if the flight is full and I don't control who is going to sit next to me, correct? Maybe you say 'no' to people who ask to sit next to you and control your seatmate that way?

4. Again, the app is not just for people to connect and talk - the app also allows someone to put in their (short) profile, "I just want to be left alone" and find another person who wants to be left alone or wants to be quiet.

Thanks for your comments. It's okay that you don't like this right now......I didn't think I would use uber at first either. Have a great day!

Rusty

Seat Amigo

legal,

We've purposefully steered clear of using Southwest images because in my opinion as an attorney, that does run afoul of trademark and copyright law. We use licensed images only from one of the licensed photo repositories on the web.

You're correct that Southwest controls the customer experience, however, again, think about meeting someone at the gate and both of you deciding to sit together on the plane. Where's the harm? This is no different, in fact, it's very similar. We suggest, as you may have read, that after you "connect" on the app, you meet with your Seat Amigo at the gate. We make no guarantee that you will be able to actually sit together. In principal it should work 99% of the time. But, in the instance of say to C boarding pass members wanting to sit next to each other, we know that will most likely not happen.

I think many on here are kinda missing it. I doubt you all would admit it, but I've sat in my A-List aisle seat watching the parade of people coming onto the plane and looking over at the A-List window flyer and we both are hoping grandma sits in the middle and not Mr. college linebacker. All I've done is create something to hedge my bet (as an A-Lister) and proactively put someone there that I want, that I pick. That said you all might be surprised at the results so far. (I'm going to make an assumption that most of the people commenting are around my age - 50's). The app, so far, is trending much younger. The millennials and younger people in their 20's meet people like this, profile first, shake hands (maybe) second.

It's all good. I appreciate the feedback no matter what.

Thanks again for the comments.

Rusty

pinniped

You may say "it's not a dating service", but Southwest's lawyers and/or PR people are going to look at it for 5 seconds and say "yeah, it's a dating service." Or, some subset of creepers and stalkers will take it that way, presenting negative risk for the airline. Given that there's ZERO upside for Southwest, that's all they need to say no to this.

I mentioned LinkedIn and Southwest because without seamless integrated authentication to both my upcoming flights and at least one social network, the app is useless. (Add Facebook, Insta, Twitter, etc. to the social networks.)

I don't control who sits next to me. I don't selectively tell people no - I just accept that somebody might sit next to me, whether on WN, on a traditional airline where I select a seat when I book, or a ULCC where one is selected for me. I just accept that this is part of using mass transit.

People warmed up to Uber because Uber fills an incredible valuable niche for many people. Ridesharing brought transportation to places that don't have a built-out public transit network and don't have taxis roaming the streets looking for riders. It's transformed some cities greatly for the better and presented challenges in others, but the value is enough that it's worthwhile to work through the challenges. I don't think people view "controlling" their seatmate on a short-haul flight as quite as essential of a service.

Seat Amigo

pinniped,

Thanks for your opinions. As I said before, I'll let you all know what Southwest thinks after i speak to them. Your opinion is but one way to look at this. I think it's easy to comment on uber now, seeing what it has done, but taxis were prevalent pretty much everywhere before uber but i do like your point. My takeway from what you said was that uber transformed how we get from A to B other than simply hailing a taxi.....I guess before uber most people "accepted taxis as a part of mass transit." Maybe Seat Amigo might do the same. You never know how this is going to evolve.

Thanks again for your comments

Rusty Shaffer

LegalTender

I'm not sure that "a bad experience can happen ANYWAY - regardless of where and when I met the person sitting next to me" is good salesmanship.

When I'm in the gate area, surrounded by strangers, I rarely feel a tug of loneliness from them that mirrors my own.

ughunter

Seems like this would add social pressure to have to chat with the seat mate. I hate that. Can I specify "no talking" in my profile?

Also seats on WN are open. First come, first served. This would exacerbate the seat saving problem as solo travellers become people with companions.

pinniped

In the United States, the only places I knew I could walk outside, raise my hand, and get a taxi almost immediately were New York and Chicago. I distinctly remember how hard it sometimes was to get one in San Francisco. In many other good sized cities like Dallas, Houston, Seattle, etc., your best bet to get a taxi was to go to a large hotel.

Ridesharing changed the game in hundreds of cities with either no or little mass transit and no real taxi presence beyond airports and hotels. It's changed how many people view car ownership and how they view transportation in general. It's also hatched a whole bunch of new questions about congestion and how ridesharing interacts with public transit, but city planners by and large accept that the game has changed and we're going to have to figure it out.

Anyway, I digress...this thread is about flying, not driving...

kennycrudup

I have 3 words, too: So. Much. This. (B&O H8s, IMC)

willywilkes

I personally don't think this app is for me in its present description. It may definitely be for some, but I very much want to be left alone while flying and having to connect with someone on an app who also wants that sounds like more hassle to me.

Aside from that, my concerns are around pricing for sure - what if someone doesn't find a match or not enough people are using the app, do they get a refund? Or they choose someone and it is a bad experience? Any recourse?

And what about the college linebacker who does spill into the next seat - are they allowed to use the app? I would be concerned about discrimination lawsuits for sure if this were to launch.

Seat Amigo

I just wanted to say thanks to you all and special thanks to moderator nsx for allowing me to introduce the group to Seat Amigo. I've enjoyed the back and forth banter and my team and I have learned from your comments. So thank you very much. I also want to thank the many of you that have contacted me privately in support of my venture.

Please feel free to private message me, email me or comment more here if you like. I've also had a PROMO CODE created for this group which gives any one of you using it, 20 credits for 10 free flights (in addition to the 3 free flights you already get when signing up) on Seat Amigo. The code expires July 1, 2019. Feel free to use it.

Use Promo Code "FLYERTALK" when filling out your profile. If you've already filled out a profile, please private message me and we can credit your account.

Thanks everyone!

Sincerely,

Rusty Shaffer

Seat Amigo

Willywilkes,

You only get charged if you match with someone. And even then, if you're flight gets cancelled or your Amigo is a no-show, we credit your account, no questions asked.

Thanks

Rusty

TomMM

Collecting and monetizing your data. Read their Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Just another creepy data collection app.

Seat Amigo

TomMM,

Thanks for your opinion. Read our FAQ, we don't sell the data. It's a shame that bad apps and wrong doers have poisoned so many of us to naturally be against things we know little about. But I guess that's life.

Tom, you travel safe....and thanks again for your input.

Rusty Shaffer