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

NEW YORK, October 2, 2012

CheapOair, a leading online travel agency, today announced that it has been awarded two Silver Magellan Awards by top trade publication, Travel Weekly, and two W3 Awards by The International Academy of Visual Arts. All four awards presented to CheapOair were on behalf of the company’s advancements within the mobile space.

The CheapOair Flight Search app and Mobile Site were each recognized with Silver Magellan Awards in the Online Travel Services category. The CheapOair Flight Search app also received a 2012 W3 Award for Best in Show in the Travel Mobile Applications category and the CheapOair Flight Search iPad app won a separate 2012 W3 Silver Award.

“We are constantly striving to improve CheapOair’s customer service through various updates to our mobile and web platforms, and this year we are thrilled to have our efforts recognized by both Travel Weekly and the International Academy of Visual Arts,” said Ankur Gupta, senior director of mobile solutions at CheapOair. “We have focused a lot on growing our mobile capabilities over the last year and are pleased to see that our apps are providing useful travel tools and services to users.”

The CheapOair Flight Search app is available for free on Android, iPhone and iPad platforms, and a separate Mobile Site that is accessible by anyone with an Internet enabled phone. Both the Flight Search app and Mobile Site allow users to search, select and book flights by price, and offer 24/7 customer support while on the go. The sleek and easy-to-use design of each platform constantly pushes CheapOair to the top of user reviews and award lists, including the recent Communicator Awards.

The Travel Weekly Magellan Awards honor the best in travel and salutes outstanding travel professionals. Honoring a broad range of industry segments including Hotels and Resorts, Travel Destinations, Cruise Lines, Online Travel Services, Airlines and Airports, Travel Agents and Agencies, Tour Operators and Car Rental Companies, the Magellan is a highly desired award in the overall business of travel.

The W3 Awards honors creative excellence on the web, and recognizes the creative and marketing professionals behind award winning sites, videos and marketing programs. The W3 is sanctioned and judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from a “Who’s Who” of acclaimed media, interactive, advertising, and marketing firms.

SOURCE: CheapOair

NEW YORK, September 20, 2012

Travelong, a full service travel agency and parent company to leading online travel agency, CheapOair, announced today that it received the “Million Dollars Sales Award” for the third consecutive year from China Airlines.

This award, presented to Travelong on August 24th, recognized the company for its sales exceeding one million dollars with China Airlines in 2011 and its achievement as an inventive business leader in the travel industry.

“On behalf of China Airlines, I would like to thank Travelong for its hard work and sales contribution to China Airlines,” said Steve Chang, General Manager of the Eastern USA Division of China Airlines. “We appreciate Travelong’s continuous support and look forward to working closely together for many years to come.”

“We are both honored and proud to receive this award from China Airlines for the third year in a row,” said Sam Jain, President and CEO of Travelong. “It is rewarding to see our efforts and improvements continue to be recognized as our company strives to maintain and advance services for our customers.”

Travelong continues to be acknowledged for its outstanding work and efforts in the online travel industry. In the past year, Travelong has earned numerous performance awards from partners including: LAN Airlines, Korean Airlines, Avianca and TACA Airlines and been named to Travel Weekly’s Esteemed Power List.

SOURCE: Travelong

NEW YORK, September 5, 2012

Today, leading online travel agency CheapOair launched phase two of its “Traveler of the Year” competition in search of the traveler who can best demonstrate how to travel the world for less. Ten semi-finalists have been chosen for an opportunity to advance to the third and final round, where two finalists will be sent on a trip to either China or India on flights sponsored by Emirates, each with $7,500 of travel money courtesy of CheapOair.

During this phase, the social community will cast their votes online to select the two finalists. Voting starts today and runs through September 21 on the “Traveler of the Year” website.

To encourage social media followers’ involvement, CheapOair will host micro-contests throughout phase two allowing fans to win prizes via Twitter and Facebook.Facebook fans who share their favorite semi-finalist video via the “Traveler of the Year” website will be entered to win CheapOair’s Travel the World for Less Tool Kit, valued at $300.

Throughout phase two, CheapOair’s Twitter followers can share their favorite video, add hashtag #traveltheworld4less to any tweet or follow CheapOair for the chance to win a $200 American Express gift card.
Anyone who votes for their favorite video will be automatically entered to win $500 in future travel with CheapOair.

“Our ‘Traveler of the Year’ competition has already been a great success, and we are looking forward to phase two in which our fans and followers will decide who they want to ‘Travel the World for Less,'” said Peter Howard, chief marketing officer at CheapOair. “The campaign will continue over the next few months as our two finalists, and ultimately the winner, are selected.”

CheapOair’s 10 semi-finalists were carefully selected by a panel of judges who reviewed entrants’ submissions and evaluated their videos based on creativity, demonstrated travel experience, ability to create quality content and on-screen presence. The 10 semi-finalists for “Traveler of the Year” are:

• Captain & Clark: Captain Chris Staudinger and Tawny 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, including everything from extreme hiking to extreme cooking.
• Kyle O’Donnel: Fascinated by his father’s stories of traveling as a photographer in the military, Cyle traveled during every semester break in college to learn how to compose, capture and develop his photography.
• Giovanni Silva: Giovanni is an independent film director, photographer, editor and world traveler who has journeyed to 37 different countries around the globe.
• Keaton Davis: A prize-winning videographer, Keaton uses his 10 years of travel experience in Europe, Central and South America and Australia as leverage.
• Kristen Van Nest: When not working as a global branding specialist, Kristen is a world traveler who has been to over 30 European cities.
• Lauren Rains: Lauren is the co-founder of Outdoor Minded Magazine and founder of The Mad to Live blog, which highlights stories from the road based on her adventures in travel and entrepreneurship.
• Mannie Boitz: Mannie is a program assistant who hails from King Cove, Alaska, a community of 700. Now a resident of Wasilla, she loves to climb and is excited to travel the world.
• Robert Guiterrez: Founders of the His and Her Travel blog, Robert and his wife document their time teaching and traveling across the world.
• Ryan McDevitt: Ryan is a world traveler who has visited close to 40 countries, documenting each experience in his online gallery of photographs from around the world.
• Todd Van Duzer: Todd is a marketing major in the Honors College at Arizona State University who has traveled to 25 countries studying identity, branding, social interaction, body language and stress-free productivity.

Host of the “Traveler of the Year” contest, travel enthusiast Paul Rogers will be launching phase two and introducing the semi-finalists via a video blog. An avid traveler who continually looks for life’s next adventure, some of Paul Rogers’ top experiences include skydiving in New Zealand, climbing Mt. Whitney in California, seeing the Matterhorn in Switzerland and golfing in Ireland. All of these experiences are documented for his web travel adventure show “Where’s Walnuts?”

SOURCE: CheapOair

NEW YORK, July 23, 2012

of the Year” competition in search of the traveler who can best demonstrate how to travel the world for less. Two semi-finalists, selected by CheapOair’s social media followers, will embark on the journey of a lifetime, one to China and the other to India, with $7,500, courtesy of CheapOair.

The two competitors will be sent on a series of challenges that will highlight how these amazing destinations can be experienced to the fullest, even when on a budget. All tasks, from finding accommodations to souvenirs, will be documented by photographs, videos, social media and blog posts. After reviewing the content created by the travelers, the brand’s social media followers will again pick the winner, who will receive an additional $5,000 worth of travel from CheapOair.

“Through the competition, we are offering our customers a great opportunity to engage in the online travel conversation, and to associate our brand with that conversation,” said Binti Pawa, vice president of marketing at CheapOair. “We want to show our customers that, in addition to great travel deals, we have integrated our website, blog and social media channels to truly help them travel the world for less, including expert insights on what to do and how to save once they’ve arrived.”

Starting today, travelers can submit three to five minute videos to CheapOair’s “Traveler of the Year” website, http://contests.cheapoair.com/traveleroftheyear/, featuring their own unique tips and tricks for traveling the world for less. The videos and other content created throughout the contest will be readily accessible on the contest website, CheapOair blog, and social media channels.

To enter, you must:

• Be skilled at creating engaging video and blog posts about travel
• Be 18 years or older
• Have a valid U.S. passport
• Be able to travel between 10/12/12 and 11/12/12 to either China or Spain
• Have an interest in traveling and the challenges that come with it

SOURCE: CheapOair