NEW YORK, April 29, 2014

CheapOair, a leading travel agency serving customers online, by phone and mobile apps, today released data showing the top destinations where its customers will be traveling for Memorial Day weekend. After a long winter, CheapOair data shows that travelers are looking to escape to warmer weather, with a majority of sun and sand destinations seeing strong growth in ticket sales year over year.

“This is the perfect time of year to find affordable airfare deals to warm weather destinations,” said Patrick Fragale, chief content officer at CheapOair. “The data shows huge increases in bookings to destinations like Fort Lauderdale, San Jose Cabo and St. Maarten that are also seeing a decrease in airfare over last year’s Memorial Day travel dates.”

Travelers planning to vacation between May 23 and May 27, 2014 will find deals to popular destinations in Florida and California, with domestic airfare just over $300 roundtrip. International travel is also very popular, with short-haul flights to destinations in Mexico and the Caribbean seeing an average airfare around $500 roundtrip.

Most Popular Destinations (2014 Avg. Roundtrip Airfare) 2014-13 Airfare Cost Change

1. St. Maarten ($376.28) New to list
2. Bermuda ($445.95) No change
3. San Jose, Costa Rica ($464.27) -3%
4. Cancun ($503.79) -14%
5. Orlando, Fla. ($320.86) 8%
6. San Jose Cabo ($619.84) -11%
7. Puerto Rico ($448.04) 20%
8. Mexico City ($383.42) -3%
9. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. ($302.76) -9%
10. San Diego, Calif. ($382.82) 16%

The average prices above are based on bookings made on CheapOair.com by April 21, 2014 for travel between May 23 and 27, 2014. Fares are roundtrip and include taxes and fees. Fares are based on historical data, are subject to change, and cannot be guaranteed at the time of booking.

SOURCE CheapOair

NEW YORK, March 1, 2014

Fareportal, a travel technology company that powers leading travel brands including CheapOair.com and OneTravel.com, announced today that Patriek Karayil has joined its team as the new Chief Marketing Officer. Karayil brings over 12 years of experience working at Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies where he managed large, high functioning global organizations that focused on business strategy and online marketing.

“We are pleased to have Patriek Karayil join the company as Fareportal’s new Chief Marketing Officer,” said Sam Jain, CEO of Fareportal. “In addition to the wealth of knowledge and experience he has in the industry, his proven track record for gaining increased market visibility makes him a great asset to our team.”

As Chief Marketing Officer, Karayil will be responsible for the development of the company’s marketing and communications across all brands. This includes focusing on building CheapOair.com, positioning the leading online travel agency as a household name and ensuring its place in a consumer’s consideration set when booking flights and travel online, by phone, and/or via mobile app and tablet.

Prior to Fareportal, Karayil served as the Global Marketing Director at Dell where he ran a $1 billion online marketing operations organization, positively impacting 500 million customers. Additionally, he was the Chief Marketing Officer for Implantable Computing Labs, a startup he formed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and has also worked in web marketing at National Instruments.

Karayil has an undergraduate degree in Engineering and Computer Science and is working towards his Master in Business Administration from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

SOURCE Fareportal

NEW YORK, February 12, 2014

CheapOair, a leading online travel agency serving customers online, by phone, and mobile apps, was named the Top Performing Retail Agency of 2013 by Qatar Airways. The award was presented to Sam Jain, CEO of CheapOair, and Sanjay Hathiramani, senior vice president of supplier relations, by airline representatives Lisa Markovic and Arun Vyas.

“This recognition is truly an honor and clearly demonstrates CheapOair’s sales activation through effective marketing promotions for Qatar Airways in 2013,” said Hathiramani, who manages CheapOair’s relationship with the airline.

“We are happy to recognize the exemplary partnership that has developed between CheapOair and Qatar Airways,” said Markovic. “Their marketing efforts have helped connect Qatar Airways with travelers as we expand our destinations across the United States.”

In the United States, Qatar Airways currently non-stop flies from Chicago, Houston, New York, and Washington, D.C. to Doha and onwards to over 130 global destinations. Later this year, Qatar Airways will add three new U.S. cities: Philadelphia (April 2), Miami (June 10), and Dallas/Fort Worth (July 1).

“With Qatar Airways increasing its presence in the United States, and with its recent entrance into the oneworld alliance, we look forward to strengthening our partnership with the airline and helping them to sell their quality product in the years ahead,” said Jain.

SOURCE: CheapOair

NEW YORK, January 6, 2014

CheapOair, a travel website serving customers online, by phone, and mobile apps, announced today its 2014 travel predictions. According to the leading online travel agency, travelers will see more affordable base fares to popular U.S. cities, airlines offering more value-added ancillary products, and continued growth in travel to international and more exotic locales.

“This will be a great year for budget travel,” said Mark Drusch, Chief Supplier Relations Officer at CheapOair. “Assuming fuel prices stay the same, we will continue seeing affordable deals to both domestic U.S. and international destinations – perhaps some even more reasonably priced than we saw in 2013.”

CheapOair’s 2014 Travel Trend Highlights:

1. Customers will book trips on mobile devices. Travelers will be booking more trips via apps than websites in 2014. Noting a shift in booking patterns from desktop to mobile, CheapOair has optimized its mobile site and free, award-winning apps to meet the demands of travelers making quick, easy and hassle-free bookings, wherever they are.
2. Low-cost carriers will offer more affordable deals. Due to the growth of airlines like Spirit and Frontier, customers will find more competitive prices with low-cost carriers. CheapOair recommends mixing and matching these airlines to find the best deals on airfare.
3. Airlines will offer more bundled ancillaries. Bundling ancillary products main cabin seating options, same day flight changes, and Group 1 boarding will continue to help travelers get the most value out of their trip. CheapOair is the only major online travel agency that allows customers to add these products to their flights on American Airlines, US Airways, and more to come in 2014.
4. Travelers will find deals to popular U.S. cities as a result of competitive pricing among airlines. In 2013, top booked domestic destinations included New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, Las Vegas, Fort Lauderdale, San Francisco, Denver, Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami and Seattle. In the coming year, travelers will still find the most affordable deals to these locations by choosing from 450 airlines and even finding a cheaper flight to cities with more than one airport option nearby.
5. Americans will be more adventurous in their travels abroad. More non-stop routes and competitive airfares will help travelers experience international destinations in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, even on a budget.
6. Exotic destinations will increase in popularity. Bookings to countries like Ecuador, Greece, Morocco, Tanzania and Turkey are up at least 30 percent year over year through Q4 2013 in comparison with Q4 2012. The allure of exotic scenery and foreign culture paired with low airfare deals will keep thrifty jet setters go on an African safari, relax on Mediterranean beaches, and more in 2014.
7. Traveling within Europe will be more affordable. Low-cost carriers like London-based easyJet and Barcelona-based Vueling will offer cheap flights among main European cities, helping customers maximize their trip to the continent. CheapOair recommends flying into U.K. or Italian cities, with flights in and out of these countries (within Europe) offering some of the most affordable fares in 2014.
8. Southeast Asia will see a boost in tourism. Destinations that showed a strong growth in 2013 include Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Hanoi (Vietnam) and Naypyidaw (Myanmar). Travel within Southeast Asia on low-cost carriers like Jetstar can help travelers experience more destinations in one trip, from major, cosmopolitan cities to uncharted locales.
9. More airline routes will make the Middle East more accessible. With more services to the Middle East, bookings to destinations like the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Iran will increase in 2014. In the interest of having the maximum offering for its customers, CheapOair is one of the only OTAs to offer flights to Iran.
10. Travel deals will be found in destinations where the U.S. dollar has grown stronger against foreign currencies. Countries with weak economies will potentially lower airfare to boost tourism, making it affordable for Americans to book flights abroad. Additionally, hotels, meals, and even tours and entertainment in those countries will be more reasonably priced.

SOURCE: CheapOair

NEW YORK, October 30, 2013

CheapOair, a leading travel website serving customers online, by phone and mobile apps, announced today the launch of its affiliate program. Free to join, CheapOair will bring great value to site owners and bloggers by helping to monetize third party sites by paying affiliates when their visitors make flight, hotel, car rental, travel insurance or vacation package bookings on CheapOair.

“We are proud to announce the CheapOair Affiliate Network,” said Brijen Rajput, senior vice president of online marketing at CheapOair. “We remain committed to providing our partners with the most competitive incentives and support, assisting in the conversion process from traffic to leads and sales.”

Free to join, potential affiliates can work directly with CheapOair without being a part of an affiliate network or working with a middle man, and benefit from CheapOair’s strong partnerships with airline, hotel and car rental suppliers to bring true value to their website or blog.

Exciting features available to affiliates include but are not limited to:

• Joining the CheapOair Affiliate Network (CAN) at no cost – free and easy to join in
• Generating income by promoting a large selection of travel products including airline tickets, hotel rooms, car rentals and travel insurance without altering brand identity
• A dedicated marketing associate to help optimize conversion potential
• Receive an additional $20 sign-up bonus after accumulating your first $50 in commission
• Utilizing an optional booking engine powered by TravelSpot.us, a turnkey travel program

To learn more, visit http://www.cheapoair.com/affiliates.

SOURCE: CheapOair