Dohop’s new flight search engine finds more cheap flights

Posted by Frosti Sigurjonsson, CEO - 11/07/08 at 10:07:14 pm

As skyrocketing fuel prices drive airlines to raise prices, travelers need a powerful flight search engine to help them find as cheap flights as possible.

Packed with new features and more data on cheap flights than ever the latest release of Dohop.com makes it possible to search hundreds of airlines and travel sites for the best deals.

Every single page on Dohop.com has been redesigned to provide better readability and ease of use.

New! Airport selection map. Pick any airport on the planet in just two clicks: Click 1: Zooms in on any part of the world. Click 2: Selects the airport. The map also shows the location of airports selected by typing or from a dropdown list.

New! Self-connect and save. On some routes self-connecting can mean great savings, sometimes up to hundreds of EUR and this is what most people use Dohop for. The new Dohop shows self-connecting options as separate tickets and provides advice on where and how to book them cheaply.

New! Avoid the hassle of self connecting. Booking a connected flight as a package with a single vendor is convenient and can in some cases be cheaper than if the same flights are booked separately. The new Dohop compares and displays both options clearly so travelers can compare.

New! Even more price information. Dohop’s new and powerful fare engine helps travelers to compare offers from more airlines and travel agents than any other flight search engine.

New! Cleaner look and clearer details. Clean and simple page layouts help users focus on the content and quickly find what they are looking for. Details are now displayed within search results rather than the user having to open a separate detail page to view details on offers and flight details.

New! Countless other improvements. Just to mention a couple of them; Filters can now be viewed in a single view, giving better overview of settings and better access to adjusting each filter. Sharing what you find on Dohop is also just one click away using the e-mail icon included in each result.

We hope you will go ahead and explore the new dohop.com and let us know what you think of it. Is there perhaps something you miss from the old version? Any particular feature you would like to see in upcoming releases?

WestJet and Southwest Airlines announce partnership

Posted by Frosti Sigurjonsson, CEO - 08/07/08 at 04:07:41 pm

Southwest Airlines (USA) and WestJet (CAN) have announced their intention to collaborate to offer seamless connections to a wide range of destinations. Details of the destinations have not been disclosed but a quick look at current networks shows that both airlines share the following airports with connectivity potential:

• FLL, Fort Lauderdale, FL
• LAS, Las Vegas, CA
• LAX, Los Angeles, CA
• MCO, Orlando, FL
• PHX, Sky Harbour, Phoenix, CA
• RSW, Fort Myers, FL
• TPA, Tampa International, FL

With Southwest Airlines operating flights to 64 destinations and WestJet offering 49 destinations there is clearly potential for many good connections. This means each airline will be able to offer more to its customer base and fill more seats.

Both airlines operate as low-cost carriers. Until today, one of the most sacred principles of running a low-cost airline has been to offer point to point flights only. What was the reason for this principle and why are two leading low cost carriers choosing to break it at this time?

The main reasons for not connecting included more complexity and higher cost of operation. Just imagine the manpower and systems required to; negotiate agreements, synchronize arrival and departure times, offer the same flight in two different reservation systems, accounting for commissions, clearing of payments, transit of luggage to final destination, dealing with lost luggage and disgruntled passengers stranded in transit…

On the other hand there is much revenue to be gained by offering connections; Each airline will be able to better utilize its route network by feeding into the partner airline’s network and vice versa. This means improved load factors and significantly greater revenue.

Innovative solutions are cropping up offering hope to airlines that want to tap into the value of connections in a way that fits the low-cost model. The Dohop Connection Platform is a solution that helps airlines to promote their naturally existing connections with other airlines, using their current web booking systems.

The Platform is open to all airlines that wish to participate but they must each approve the partners they want to connect with.

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