Seat Amigo

Hello fellow Southwest flyers.

My name is Rusty Shaffer and first and foremost, I've been a Southwest A-Lister for over 13 years. Being based in Reno, NV, Southwest is really the best way to get where you want to go - lots of connections. I was asked by the moderator of this group to introduce myself and introduce a new app that I came up with as a result of being a Southwest A-List flyer. Please understand, I'm not simply trying to commercialize this or any other post I make. I contacted the forum first to ask them how to proceed. I believe that I have a lot of knowledge regarding flying on Southwest and I will contribute to this forum as a Southwest passenger first. That said, here was my idea and ultimately, the app which is now live...

I was sitting on a flight a couple of years ago, in my A-list aisle seat, and I was watching the parade of people walking down the aisle deciding which seat to choose. We've all been there right? I started thinking, "Wouldn't it be great to know who was going to sit next to me (like when I travel with my wife or a biz colleague) before i got on the plane?" That thought became an idea and then that sparked a conversation with my family to run the idea by them and that was it. I embarked on an entrepreneurial journey to make the Seat Amigo app (www.seatamigo.com) which allows Southwest passengers to connect and meet prior to their flight so they can sit together.

It's an interesting idea and I'm giving it a go. The response so far has been great. the app just went live about a week ago. I've reached out to Southwest to see about partnering as well as other airlines to see about incorporating Seat Amigo into their seating process's. I really do appreciate your indulgence and time and please reach out to me if you have any questions. otherwise, see you on the posts!

Rusty Shaffer


www.seatamigo.com

LegalTender

Reassuring that you're "not simply trying to commercialize this or any other post."

How about sharing the membership cost, any refund/guarantee and basics of your business model. Are you looking for investors? Is seat saving a concomitant?

ursine1

Southwest introduced A-List in November, 2007.

Seat Amigo

Hi LegalTender,

I'd be happy to. Signing up and using the app for your first 3 flights is absolutely free. Then we have come up with a tiered pricing schedule as well as a year subscription. So if you're a casual flyer, it's $5 per flight. If you're an A-List flyer (flying 25-50 flights per year) it's $75 per year for unlimited flights (50 flights makes the per flight cost $1.40).

Refund/guarantee. We understand things happen. Cancelled flights, delayed flights, and there will be people you connect to that are no-shows for one reason or another. No worries. There's a simple form on the support page of the website to fill out and we will credit your account, no questions asked.

We have a filed a patent pending on the invention and yes, we are seeking investors. Please go here if you're interested in investing https://www.startengine.com/seat-amigo-inc.

I feel seat saving is not an issue. I can't remember in the last 10 years, when traveling with family or colleagues, when another passenger has given me a hassle for saving a seat. I've heard of it though and I just believe those are very rare occurrences.

The bottom line is that when I've been on a flight and sat next to someone that I connected with - it was a great flight. Unfortunately, it was a rarity, not because people aren't nice or interesting, I just didn't have a connection either socially or business wise - hence, the reason for the app.

Thanks very much for your questions.

Rusty

Seat Amigo

I apologize, I was off by a year.....

Rusty

DenverBrian

My only advice: Have someone proofread your entire website.

nsx

Welcome to FT, Rusty. Your app is intriguing and Southwest-specific, so it ought to be discussed here. I hope you brought your flame suit!

Unlike automated check-in apps and services, this does not violate Southwest's rules and does not reduce Southwest's revenue. It might even make choosing Southwest more attractive to customers.

I assume that this service pairs 2 individuals, one of whom will take a middle seat. The app should advise them to avoid saving an exit row seat, and that saving a middle seat aft of the exit row is unlikely to meet any objection. If this app increases saving of prime seats, Southwest (and FTers) will likely take a very dim view of it.

Assuming the 2 people site next to each other, who gets the aisle and who gets the middle? Maybe the person who pays the app gets the middle and the one who doesn't pay gets the middle? Or maybe the one with the better boarding number gets the middle. The app could advise customers that if the flight has more than 40 empty seats (load of 100 or 130 on the 2 aircraft sizes) an empty middle may be possible within a few rows aft of the exit row. We here call that zone Secret First Class.

I'm curious who will use this app and how they will use it. That's where insights from our readers could help. Although we know that we're outliers here.

Will this become a Southwest-specific Tinder*? How can one app support widely varying customer expectations? This should be an entertaining discussion.

---------------------
*Maybe including commissioned links to nearby hotels that charge by the hour.

Seat Amigo

Nsx,

Thanks for the welcome and yes....tough crowd...that's ok, it's all good and if it makes a better app, then fantastic! Ok, to your questions.....

1. We assume those that know they are most likely going to get a middle seat would be one of the pairs. High B or C. I feel, that the A's, can use this as "insurance". What I mean by that is that even the first person on the plane sits next to someone if its a full flight. So why not hedge your bet and use the time (and seat next to you) to your advantage?

2. As to your secret first class I never thought, personally, that there was an advantage EXCEPT for the two window seats with no seat in front of them. BUT unless I have A-5 or less, I never got that - then I was stuck back there. part of my personal calculations when boarding is time to de-plane - I'm a carry-on guy so that time matters to me.

3. I've reached out to some other airlines and have some phone calls set up for next week. A lot tougher to implement Seat Amigo when you assign specific seats but I'm going to suggest they try it and make a few rows for "Seat Amigo" seating"? We'll see....

4. Lastly, this feedback is great. I encourage all of you to go on the app and make it a profile - it costs nothing. PLEASE keep giving me your feedback. Yes, I want this to be successful but if it also improves the flights for Southwest travelers - well then we all win.

Thank you again.

Rusty

nsx

Secret First Class is just where the middle seats fill last, due to the flow of boarding. The effect is real. Just ask the flight attendant standing there next time.

I predict airlines will not engage with you about the app. All it takes is one of your users to be an axe murderer or Fatal Attraction psycho. No deep pocketed entity would touch this.

poximex

Well if we're adding to the flame pile, the video in the website's background is definitely not a 737 winglet.

Jokes aside, this seems like an interesting idea... might be more fun than sitting next to a significant other.

ElmhurstNick

Fun anecdote yesterday where your app would have been useful. Lots of sub-4 year olds on an evening AUS-MDW. Various levels of crankiness even when boarding. I'm in 18C, and this really cute 2-ish year old girl comes up to me during family boarding and shows me her stuffed fish. I was hoping that one her parents would sit in my row because it would give me more shoulder room if the little girl was in the center. But they had two kids so they wanted window/middle in consecutive rows.

So the mother asks 16D if they can sit in EF, The woman replies: "only if your child is well-behaved!" The parents rightfully get miffed, and move back to the early 20s.

The woman in 16D could have used your app.

LegalTender

Disclaimers, as expected, abound:



Since you are meeting up in a public place, presumed safe from weapons and teeming with security, what you personally share once on board is the only real risk. I gather Seat Amigo would be held harmless.

vegasguy702

Hi there,

You make some good points except for the last one about the axe killing psychopath passenger. Do you think that everyone who flies Southwest is a law abiding citizen who has never hurt anyone? There’s going to be psycho customers for every service; match.com, craig’s list, etc. Never stopped deep pockets from engaging with those companies.

Seat Amigo

I'll let you know. Not sure how Seat Amigo would make flying Southwest or sitting next to a particular person any more dangerous than normal? We did think about the safety concerns or "stalkers" for sure so we implemented the following on the app - Oh, and by the way, KLM integrated something like this - a way for their passengers to see LinkedIN profiles of other passengers prior to picking a seat when at the airport n order to sit next to someone interesting......so never say never


• When you sign up, your email must be verified by you. You'll receive an email confirming sign up and a link to click to verify your email and activate your account.
• When creating a profile, we've configured it to mainly be options to tap, thereby eliminating random text input which might be offensive.
• When submitting a photo for approval, the photo comes to us here at Seat Amigo and is approved or declined by a human - no algorithm's looking at photos.
• You need to have credits in your account to list yourself on your flight. Currently, you need 2 credits per flight.
• You can only message your matched amigo the day before your flight limited unwanted advances.
• We suggest you meet your matched amigo at the gate on the day of your flight. Since you both had to pass through TSA, it's about the safest meeting you can have with regards to social apps.

Thanks!!

LegalTender

Similar outlets have been at this a while:

btryfly.net "See who’s at the airport, make new connections and turn idle airport time into opportunities."

meetattheairport.com "Have your flight info? List it with us! We'll match you with other travelers in the airport."

planely.com "Ever sat next to someone you’d have preferred not to? Ever spotted someone that you would’ve loved to be sitting next to, but couldn’t?"