Photo courtesy Routehappy
A new partnership between Expedia Inc. and Routehappy announced this week will allow travelers and clients to be more informed when booking flights.
Expedia's brands now have full access to Routehappy's Scores and Happiness Factors API, which not only lists "Happiness Factors" for each specific flight such as Aircraft, Seat, Layout, Wi-Fi, Entertainment and Power, but also grades flights on a scale from 1 to 10 based on these factors. That includes every flight worldwide from 200 focus airlines.
"Expedia is focused on creating the best flight product for consumers. Our partnership with Routehappy enables us to do that by presenting valuable information to help travelers make the most informed decision possible," said Greg Schulze, Senior Vice President, Global Tour & Transport at Expedia, Inc., via a press release. "Routehappy has demonstrated a deep commitment to differentiating the air travel space. This benefits both our customers and our partners as it allows travelers an easier way to find the flight experience that best fits their needs."
Adam Gwosdof, chief data officer for Routehappy, told TravelPulse Routehappy used to aggregate passenger reviews to create a grade much like TripAdvisor, but found that over time it was more accurate and detailed to research and verify hard data through its team of experts and grade accordingly. Routehappy's team includes aviation experts and data and Web app "geeks" from the online travel industry, major airlines and beyond.
Gwosdof said that Routehappy's Happiness Factors were created based on a general need for more detailed information. For example, many sites allowed travelers to filter results by price or schedule, but not much more. Routehappy's system allows travelers to not only filter more amenities, but it also includes the specific aircraft. A general passenger review might include the airline and route, but exclude the model of the aircraft; Routehappy includes everything. That can make a big difference, considering some aircraft models are much more advanced.
This differentiation platform isn't just meant to benefit travelers, of course. The transparency it provides will also aid airlines that have added a few extra touches for passengers. Travelers can now not only view flights by price, but also see specific amenities and an overall score, which means it's much easier to look at a couple of flights that are the same price and know which one is better. This transparency naturally awards those airlines that go above and beyond for passengers.
Gwosdof said that Routehappy is thrilled about its new partnership with Expedia, adding that the agreement with one of the world's largest travel companies validates Routehappy's work even more.
Expedia recently began plugging Routehappy data into Expedia.com flight searches in the U.S. and is currently in the process of implementing a global rollout. Most flights around the world already have Routehappy's scores included.
Visit Routehappy.com or Expedia.com for more information.
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