This Week’s Best In Beta
Which startup is going to be the next big thing? Investors, bloggers, job seekers, and inspiring entrepreneurs everywhere are dying to know. Hundreds of startups enter private beta each month, and that’s far too many for any one person to keep up with. Fret not! Each week, I share some of the hottest new startups in this column, Best In Beta. Let’s discover the next big thing together!
FLYR
Who isn’t hungry for a tool to find the best airfare? My sample size might be skewed toward people sharing my interests, but I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t complain about the high costs of travel or of feeling like they’ve been screwed on ticket prices.
Guesswork, the lottery, a game show, Russian roulette – there’s no reason for buying plane tickets to feel like a gamble. FLYR agrees.
FLYR is a flight search tool that uses predictive analytics to find the best airfare. Enter in your typical flight search and FLYR shows you the lowest available fares as well as the probabilities of fares increasing or selling out – or if better deals will become available. It makes a “Buy” or “Wait” recommendation depending on the odds, which makes decisions easier.
It’s so tough to know when to buy tickets, and infuriating when prices change arbitrarily (it’s more likely prices climb because interest is being monitored and companies try to push higher values when they can). FLYR looks to remove all the guesswork from the booking process.
FLYR lets you set up a FareBeacon that will tell you when predictions for a flight change to a favorable “Buy.” The startups is also working on fare-locking feature that will let you lock in tickets at a particular price but free to book differently should prices drop. This flexibility also removes the pressure to commit to tickets early on then pay ridiculous fees when itineraries change.
Currently in public beta, FLYR’s focus is on domestic flights. Data doesn’t cover American Airlines, and some important airports are left out of the mix as well. Predictions anticipate flight prices from 1 to 8 weeks in advance. It’s early though, and already FLYR is the most exciting search tool I’ve seen crop up in a long time.
Tired of missing deals and having no clue when to buy plane tickets? Give FLYR a try at getflyr.com.
