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Veteran Travel Journalist Launches Airfarewatchdog.com, Providing Immediate Access to Little-Known, Sometimes Unadvertised Airfare BargainsWhen it comes to airline discount fares, George Hobica is more than a bargain hunter, he’s virtually a bounty hunter! That’s why the veteran travel journalist hired a team of researchers and started Airfare Watchdog, a new travel Web site, newsletter and blog which are capturing the attention of travelers with timely insight on sometimes rock-bottom, unadvertised airfares from their favorite departure city. After spending a portion of his career working with travel discount Web sites and newsletters, Hobica realized they all lacked a measure of consumer friendliness, so he developed this service, which is already gaining popularity for its down-to-earth, personable style, its canine mascot, “Browser” and most of all, surprising fares which in today’s time of numerous online travel deal services, are still oftentimes unknown by the general public and sometimes as low as $0! Airfare Watchdog has distinguished itself beyond today’s fare lists and discount services by including discount air carriers like Southwest, JetBlue and Allegiant Air in their fare alerts. These carriers usually do not share their fares with third-party booking engines like Travelocity or Orbitz and sometimes are excluded from travel discount newsletters as well. As an added distinction, the site employs a team of researchers who, according to Hobica, “hand pick” discount fares and personally test them for true value and seat availability, making their fare finds more reliable and customer friendly. “By using human intelligence, rather than artificial intelligence, we are sometimes able to deliver fares with fewer restrictions, making it an even better deal for the consumer. Other airfare alert services rely on technology alone, so in the long run, their fares may not be as much of a deal,” Hobica said. “A $190 fare with no advance purchase or minimum stay restrictions may be better than a $150 fare with heavy restrictions. This is a difference that a robot fare search would overlook.” He also noted that most of the fares his service provides are valid for travel any day of the week, not just limited-availability weekend deals. “This is a very attractive feature for business travelers,” he said. Many Watchdog fares are also valid for travel up to as many as 330 days in the future. Another unique feature of this service is that travelers do not book directly from the Web site. Though a small portion of Airfarewatchdog.com’s revenue comes from affiliate programs with booking engines such as Travelocity and Orbitz, the primary goal is to find deals for the site’s visitors. As a result, if an airline’s own site has the lowest fare; Airfarewatchdog.com will direct users to that site - which generates no revenue - rather than to a higher fare on an affiliate engine which pays a small fee to Airfare Watchdog. In addition to travel deals, Hobica is able to leverage his experience as a travel writer specializing in consumer issues by giving useful travel insights as well. His “Ask George” section is syndicated to several newspapers. His subscribers also have access to a blog. One popular feature on the site is the route map section, which compiles more than 80 official airline route maps, the largest collection on the Internet. “Many airlines don’t publish their route maps or have them buried on their Web sites, forcing consumers to work at finding out the cities they serve. We began offering this added convenience after realizing this information was not readily available to travelers,” he said. Not surprisingly, the site is generating positive feedback from users. Even travel agents use it. According to Terry Seligman of TerryTours.com, “Airfare Watchdog is a really useful tool for every traveler, from neophyte to veteran. As a travel professional who does quite a bit of personal travel, I have found significant savings that I would have missed, were it not for the daily emails I get from ‘the Dog’. Retiree, Richard Hacker in Juneau, Alaska, added, "Thanks to Airfare Watchdog, when I do want to fly, I am armed with knowledge and can cut through the clutter to make an informed decision." Travelers everywhere are enjoying better bargains and more useful information by turning to Airfare Watchdog. “In the past two weeks I have gotten two great deals via this site, Dallas/Ft. Worth to Ft. Lauderdale on Spirit for $52 and Oklahoma City to Acapulco for $0 ($105 with taxes),” said Bill Ley of Dallas, Texas. “Keep up the good work!” Created by veteran travel journalist George Hobica, Airfarewatchdog.com is a unique tool for finding low airfares, many of which are unadvertised. Users also get unbiased, consumer-friendly travel counsel, access to the largest online collection of official airline route maps, and an airfare deals blog that “deconstructs” and analyzes airline sales in depth. Unlike some fare lists, Airfarewatchdog includes and compares fares on Southwest and JetBlue. Rather than use computer programs, Airfarewatchdog’s small, dedicated staff finds and evaluates airfares “by hand” much in the same way consumers do, and tests each fare for validity, value, and seat availability before posting on the site and in newsletters. Airfarewatchdog.com was named one of the 2005 “World’s Best Values” by Travel + Leisure magazine. To subscribe or to learn more about this service, visit www.airfarewatchdog.com. Edited by Madelyn Miller |
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