Fareportal Launches Ancillary Products For American Airlines On CheapOair.com

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FORT WORTH, Texas and NEW YORK, August 5, 2013

American Airlines customers booking travel on Fareportal’s consumer website, CheapOair.com, now will be able to tailor their travel plans with American’s Choice Essential and Choice Plus products, and Main Cabin Extra and Preferred Seating options. CheapOair is the first major online travel agency to offer customers American’s Choice Essential and Choice Plus products.

The option to add Choice Essential, Choice Plus, Main Cabin Extra and Preferred Seats to a booking from CheapOair’s payment page gives customers extra freedom and control over their travel plans.

“American has always been focused on providing our customers with valuable choices to help customize their travel experience,” said Cory Garner, American’s Managing Director – Sales Operations and Distribution. “We are pleased to partner with Fareportal to develop a solution that displays our ancillary products in a customer-friendly way, clearly demonstrating the benefits of American’s industry-standard direct connection technology.”

American’s products offer customers the following:

  • Choice Essential: No change fee, one free checked bag and Group 1 boarding.
  • Choice Plus: No change fee, one free checked bag and Group 1 boarding, plus additional 50 percent AAdvantage mileage bonus, same-day flight change, same-day standby and a premium beverage.
  • Main Cabin Extra: Seats in the front of the Main Cabin with up to six inches of additional legroom and Group 1 boarding.
  • Preferred Seats: Seats more favorably located within the Main Cabin, such as exit rows and aisle seats.

Fareportal continually provides added value for travelers looking for extras like priority boarding or the ability to change their plans at a moment’s notice. Now more than ever, Fareportal has solidified the position of CheapOair as an advanced one-stop shop for all of a traveler’s booking needs, giving them the ability to design their travel experience and get the most value out of their trip.

“We are proud to offer our customers the option to purchase American’s added value options on our site,” said Sam Jain, CEO of Fareportal. “Working with American to make its products available for sale on CheapOair emphasizes our commitment to providing customers with more choice when planning and booking their travel.”

SOURCE: American Airlines

Travelong Ranks 11th in Travel Weekly’s 2013 Power List

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NEW YORK, July 9, 2013

Travel Weekly’s esteemed 2013 Power List was announced this week and Travelong, an affiliate of Fareportal and parent company to leading online travel agency CheapOair, has come in at number 11. This recognition from one of the top publications in the trade industry further solidifies Fareportal as an emerging leader in the online travel space.

“We are honored to see our company’s success recognized on Travel Weekly’s Power List again this year,” said Sam Jain, CEO at Fareportal. “At Fareportal, we continue to envision and implement advances in many areas of the company with a single goal, which is to enhance our customers’ experience.”

The 2013 Power List recognized Fareportal’s achievements as a top company, including its major developments throughout the past year. Accomplishments include 2012 sales at $3.5 billion as well as the growth of its mobile apps, having been launched on several platforms with more than 1.3 million app downloads by the end of 2012. Fareportal was also recognized for the significant expansion of its contact centers, with call volume continuing to grow.

Looking toward the future of the company, Fareportal is continuing to advance in many ways to help increase customer satisfaction. In addition to a continual drive to run the fastest travel websites, Fareportal will continue to grow its brands internationally. Additionally, Fareportal will continue to expand its mobile developments in an effort to accommodate all mobile users in today’s technologically advanced world.

Fareportal and its affiliate companies like Travelong have been continuously acknowledged for outstanding work, placing them among industry leads like Expedia, American Express and AAA Travel. In the past year, Fareportal has earned numerous performance accolades from partners including Sabre Travel Network, US Airways, LAN Airlines, China Airlines, Korean Airlines, Avianca and TACA Airlines and TAM.

Travel Weekly’s esteemed Power List applauds significant improvements of outstanding companies in the online travel industry with its yearly ranking structure. Travel Weekly was established in 1958 and is written for U.S. travel agents, tour operators, corporate travel executives and travel industry suppliers.

SOURCE: Travelong

CheapOair First U.S. Online Travel Agency to Offer Complete Inventory from Interjet

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NEW YORK, July 8, 2013

Leading travel website CheapOair announced today a partnership with Interjet, the second-largest air carrier in Mexico, to offer its customers access to the airline’s full flight and fare inventory. Under the concept of “high efficiency” the airline serves Mexico’s top destinations, giving CheapOair customers an additional airline option for flying to and within the country.

With this partnership, CheapOair brings another convenient option to customers seeking value when traveling to or from Mexico. Serving 33 of the country’s top destinations, CheapOair customers now have greater choice when planning and booking travel to points like Cancun, Mexico City and Guadalajara, all of which fall within the 10 most popularly booked international destinations on CheapOair.

“As the demand for international travel has grown, so has the need to provide our customers with additional travel options when booking, making this partnership with Interjet extremely valuable,” said Sam Jain, CEO at CheapOair. “Our customers traveling from major cities across the United States will now enjoy the option to fly on Interjet, which will provide them not only with great deals, but also great service.”

An official at Interjet said, “Interjet is pleased to expand its reach to customers in the United States by partnering with CheapOair, and parent company Fareportal. As CheapOair is a top five online travel agency, Interjet is making its value-focused products available to a greater share of U.S. travelers.”

Recently, CheapOair launched a new site for Spanish-speaking customers to book flights in their native language. Customers can now access Interjet inventory and book flights directly by visiting http://www.cheapoair.com, or http://www.cheapoair.com/es to book flights in Spanish, making booking easy and hassle-free for customers worldwide.

SOURCE: CheapOair

Fareportal Websites First to Offer US Airways ChoiceSeats

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NEW YORK, April 23, 2013

Fareportal, a leading travel technology company, is the first in the industry to offer its customers US Airways ChoiceSeats. This new functionality allows passengers the convenience of reserving the seats they want, mostly window and aisle seats toward the front of coach, while making a reservation. Customers with ChoiceSeats enjoy the benefit of being among the first to board and the first to leave when they land.

“When it comes to booking flights, we go beyond the guarantee our websites provide for customers; we provide the best deals, and a simplified booking process that is quick and easy,” said Sam Jain, CEO at Fareportal. “A partnership with US Airways allows Fareportal to offer travelers an added bonus when they book with us. This additional service is exactly what we strive for in our commitment to provide truly reliable, one-stop travel solutions.

Fareportal’s websites, which recently ranked ahead of both Orbitz and Travelocity in online visitor market share, offer airfares from over 450 global airlines, including American Airlines, US Airways, United Airlines, British Airways and Cathay Pacific.

“USAirways is pleased to offer ChoiceSeats through Fareportal,” said John Gustafson, USAirways’ Vice President of eCommerce, Mobile & Distribution. “Now that Choice Seats are available to customers who book on either of Fareportal’s websites, more customers will be able to enjoy the many benefits of this product.”

Customers can choose to purchase ChoiceSeats when they book a flight online with Fareportal’s consumer site CheapOair, or directly with US Airways at check-in or through the Manage Reservations section at usairways.com.

SOURCE: Fareportal

CheapOair Launches Award-Winning Flight Search App for Amazon’s Kindle Fire

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NEW YORK, March 8, 2013

Leading travel website, CheapOair (www.cheapOair.com) announced its award-winning Flight Search app is now available on Amazon’s Kindle Fire. As the newest expansion to CheapOair’s suite of mobile apps, the Kindle Fire app joins the impressive line of highly rated iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows 7 and Windows 8, apps offered by the online travel agency.

Available in the Amazon app store, CheapOair’s Kindle Fire app serves as an efficient platform for customers to book travel from the palm of their hand. The app provides an easy and hassle-free process for searching affordable flights and car rentals on the go. Functions include quick and efficient sorting of millions of discounted flights by price, stops and departure or arrival times. Customers are able to easily book from their devices at anytime from anywhere in the world. Additional features are safe, industry standard SSL security, the ability to check previous bookings, view airport terminal maps, weather information, flight status updates and 24/7 customer support.

“We are proud to announce CheapOair’s latest Kindle Fire app, as it enhances our overall presence in the mobile technology space,” said Sam Jain, CEO at CheapOair. “Given the influence mobile technology has in today’s society, we are committed to ensure our services are always readily available to help our customers save time and money while traveling.”

As travelers increasingly rely on mobile devices to research and book trips, CheapOair continues to expand its mobile offerings. In addition to their app on multiple platforms, CheapOair offers a separate mobile site that is accessible by anyone with an Internet enabled phone. All CheapOair platforms offer sleek, easy-to-use designs which constantly put them at the top of user reviews and award lists.

SOURCE: CheapOair

Chris Cuddy Joins Fareportal Executive Board

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NEW YORK, March 7, 2013

Fareportal, a travel technology company, today announced Chris Cuddy has joined the team as the new Chief Commercial Officer. Cuddy brings over 25 years of experience building and growing private and public engineering enabled companies with an international focus.

“We are proud to announce Chris Cuddy as Fareportal’s new Chief Commercial Officer,” said Sam Jain, CEO of Fareportal. “His wealth of experience leading online consumer companies and his skills in engineering, marketing, and business development make him a true asset to our team.”

As Chief Commercial Officer, Cuddy will work with Fareportal to build and enhance the team’s product development and engineering to drive business growth.

Prior to Fareportal, Cuddy served as CEO of Cheapflights Media, Europe’s largest online flights search engine. Cheapflights refers over $3 billion of airline ticket sales annually to its travel partners in over 12 countries. Previously he was CEO of Engage Inc., an early online advertising network.

Cuddy has also held senior roles at CMGI, Computer Sciences, and Goldman Sachs. He has served on the initial teams of Bluestreak technology and MECA software, and is Executive Chairman of ezCater and a screening committee member of Launchpad Venture Group.

Cuddy earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from George Washington University and his Master in Business Administration degree from Carnegie Mellon University.

SOURCE: Fareportal

CheapOair First Online Travel Agency to Develop a Windows 8 App

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NEW YORK, January 22, 2013

CheapOair, a top three online travel agency, revealed this week that its Windows 8 app has been elevated to the cover of Microsoft’s travel section. The CheapOair Flight Search app, launched in August 2012 on the preview version of the platform, was the first Windows 8 app developed by an online travel agency.

“We are thrilled by CheapOair’s recent front page acknowledgement from Microsoft. It was a pleasure working with them to create the first travel booking app for Windows 8,” says Jeff DeRosalia, development manager of mobile solutions at CheapOair. “In an age where technology is constantly evolving, we strive to provide our customers with quality travel booking options on readily available and reliable platforms.”

Accessible on all personal computers, laptops, netbooks and tablets, CheapOair’s Windows 8 app allows customers to quickly and efficiently sort through millions of discounted flights by price, stops and departure/arrival time. Customers are then able to easily identify the best vacation options for their needs and book straight from their device at anytime from anywhere in the world. Additional features are safe, industry standard SSL security, the ability to check previous bookings and upcoming trips and 24/7 customer support.

In addition to the Windows 8 app, CheapOair offers a comprehensive suite of mobile apps on Android, iPhone and iPad platforms, as well as a separate mobile website that is accessible by anyone with an Internet enabled phone. All CheapOair apps offer sleek, easy-to-use designs which constantly put them at the top of user reviews and award lists including the recently attained Communicator Awards, Travel Weekly Magellan Awards, W3 Awards and Davey Awards.

SOURCE: CheapOair

CheapOair Announces “Traveler of the Year” Winner

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NEW YORK, December 13, 2012

CheapOair, one of the fastest growing travel companies in the country, announced today that Team “Captain & Clark,” also individually known as Chris Staudinger and Tawny Clark, are the winners of its “Traveler of the Year” competition. After a five month long competition, Captain & Clark won the title as the competitors who best demonstrated that they could travel the world for less.

“The ‘Traveler of the Year’ competition is proof that ‘traveling the world for less’ is possible,” said Peter Howard, chief marketing officer at CheapOair. “Captain & Clark expressed creativity and enthusiasm for world travel throughout this competition, and we encourage others to take the same perspective when thinking about booking a future vacation.”

Captain & Clark met at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2008 and have since been traveling the world together in pursuit of taking on different “extreme” adventures. The two formed a pact to acquaint themselves with the world, and themselves, by continuously journeying to new locations that enrich their lives, not their bank accounts.

Having traveled to India as the final phase of the competition, Captain & Clark experienced riding on elephants and camels, feeding monkeys, visiting historical landmarks, witnessing ancient and exotic dance performances, dining on traditional Indian cuisine, and learning more about the overall Indian culture and residents — all within a strict and limited budget. The couple also wowed fans by announcing their engagement during the trip.

Fans utilized Facebook and Twitter to vote, and ultimately named Captain & Clark the Traveler of the Year. Strong numbers were pulled on each of CheapOair’s social media channels, with hundreds engaging through shares, likes and tweets of contest updates. On YouTube, the contestant videos received over 33,000 views.

Final phase videos documenting the travel experiences of Captain & Clark in India are available to view online on the Traveler of the Year contest website. As the official “Traveler of the Year” team, Captain & Clark received $5,000 worth of travel from CheapOair.

SOURCE: CheapOair

CheapOair Achieves Top Three Online Travel Agency Ranking

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NEW YORK, December 10, 2012

Leading travel website CheapOair is now ranked third in site traffic among top online travel agencies according to the latest data released by Experian Hitwise, ahead of Travelocity, Orbitz, Hotwire and Kayak, among others. The company’s rise in the rankings reflects its growth in many areas, including enhancements within its mobile applications, brand campaigns and an increase in airline and hotel partners.

“CheapOair’s top three visitor ranking reflects and validates our team’s consistent hard work to provide quality service to our customers across all platforms,” said Peter Howard, chief marketing officer at CheapOair. “This has been a year of enhancements for all facets of our company, and we look forward to seeing continuous growth leading into and throughout the coming year.”

With travelers increasingly turning to mobile technologies to research and book travel, CheapOair has made great efforts this year to provide new ways for customers to book from the palm of their hand. In addition to its award-winning iPhone and Android apps, it became the first OTA to release an app for Windows 8, each providing CheapOair’s flight and hotel discounts on the go, as well as a recently introduced chat feature offering customers 24/7 support directly from the app.

This year, CheapOair also launched its “Travel the World for Less” campaign to show its customers how aspirational trips and vacations are actually attainable via the website’s deals and vacation packages. “With over 450 airlines and millions of flight selections, our customers can mix and match to build their ideal trip,” says Howard.

“With the launch of our new campaign, ongoing site improvements and increased brand awareness and customer engagement through our mobile apps and social media channels, we are driven to keep CheapOair as a top OTA for many years to come,” said Howard.

Customers are noticing these accomplishments, according to recent research by J.D. Power and Associates. The survey, which compiled customer feedback on overall satisfaction with their purchase experience on an independent travel website, reviewed seven factors including competitiveness of pricing, useful information, booking/reservation options, website/online store, ease of booking/reserving, competitiveness of sales and promotions and customer service. CheapOair was ranked in the top 10, among leading competitors.

SOURCE: CheapOair

CheapOair Announces Final Phase of “Traveler of the Year” Contest

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NEW YORK, November 19, 2012

Today, leading online travel agency CheapOair announced the final phase of its “Traveler of the Year” competition. The contest aims to find the traveler who can best demonstrate how to travel the world for less. Voting for the finalists, “Captain & Clark” and Todd Van Duzer, begins today. Fans can vote for their favorite contestant based on the finalists’ 10 minute long, high quality video highlighting their overall experience during the travel period. Voting ends on December 11th and the winner will be announced that evening.

“As we near a final decision for the ‘Traveler of the Year’ competition, we look back to how the contest started and couldn’t be happier with the results,” said Peter Howard, chief marketing officer at CheapOair. “Regardless of the outcome, we believe that both finalists have proven their passion for world travel and have really encouraged others to travel the world for less, proving that it can be done.”

Finalists “Captain & Clark” spent their trip in India, while Todd Van Duzer embarked to China. Each finalist was given $7,500 worth of travel money courtesy of CheapOair, and while on their trips, the travelers documented their experiences in various video clips. The biggest takeaway from each trip included Todd conquering the world’s highest bungee jump and an engagement announcement from “Captain & Clark.”

Fans can view the videos for each finalist and cast votes for Traveler of the Year. The finalist with the highest number of votes will earn the winning title of “Traveler of the Year” as well as $5,000 worth of travel from CheapOair.

SOURCE: CheapOair