Hopper’s Travel App Tells You When To Fly And Buy

A mobile application called Hopper, out today on iTunes, is using data and analysis from “billions” of flight prices in order to tell travelers when they should fly and buy tickets. The company claims that it’s able to save users as much as 40 percent on flights, and in 95 percent of cases will get you a cheaper flight or one that’s at least the same price as you would have otherwise found elsewhere. By monitoring trip prices 24/7 and further in advance, Hopper says your chances of scoring a deal increase.

Hopper has been building out its “Price Prediction” tool for some time in order to focus specifically on the challenge of helping users get the best flight deals. The company says that it found that only about one-third of the time is the current price the best you’ll get – the other two-thirds of the time, you could have saved more.

There’s no “best day” to book, but consumers often miss the chance to snag a lower fare because they’re only spot-checking for changes and decreases. With Hopper, the idea is that you can monitor a particular route continuously using its “Watch a Trip” feature, which gives you a better chance at catching a better fare. When the fare drops, Hopper can alert you via a push notification, which can also inform you if the price isn’t likely to fall further. It can notify you if fares are about to increase, as well.

“A lot of the flight alert products others are offering are almost a daily digest,” Patrick Surry, chief data scientist at Hopper, told Mashable. But sometimes fares have already changed by the time people get those digests. “The real-time side of it is really important.”

Another feature, “When To Fly,” also helps travelers by visually color-coding dates so it’s easier to see when the best travel days are to save more money. The app helps you discover the cheaper airports, too.

The app is just like having a “super-fast, all-knowing travel agent in your pocket,” according to the company.

Source: TechCrunch