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Hi Max, Flightcaster may not be as useful for all travelers, but we believe it may be useful to a large enough population of travelers to be a real business.

Hi Max, Flightcaster may not be as useful for all travelers, but we believe it may be useful to a large enough population of travelers to be a real business. Some business travelers can rebook flights in order to significantly increase the likelihood that they can make an important business meeting. In this case, it may be aimed at connecting flights, or at initial departing flights. For others, having the information is useful, even if it doesn't mean rebooking. For example, I have traveled a lot for business and we joke about the value of the power outlets at the airports - another 20 minutes with power for my laptop is a big value in the airport. :-) Lastly, we humans have to be careful about our bias toward making ambiguous numerical claims and extrapolating out from our limited experiences. The flights you have taken in your part of the world is a small sample size to generalize from. Depending on how you define us "delayed," somewhere between 20 - 30 % of U.S. domestic flights are delayed. What numbers do you have to substantiate the claim that "flights nowadays in my part of the world are on time?"

maxklein 17y ago
I can understand that there is a category of travellers that would need something like this, but what I don't see is the money. I.e, rebooking a flight is an emotionally taxing activity. It's like being in the supermarket and deciding if you should switch to the other line or stay in your line. It's a very small decision and the difference in time lost or gained is tiny, but emotionally, it's a pretty big decision. Rebooking a flight is also an emotionally expensive decision, and if I would ever trust flightcaster, it has to really be completely accurate all of the time. I would kick myself if I rebooked and something went wrong. SO! We were talking about the money - the business is like a drill down list, and in each step, you have a smaller number: Travellers > Travellers who care about being on time > Travellers who are internet saavy > Travellers who have heard of your app > Travellers who want your app > Travellers who will pay for your app. With that depth in the list, you better be charging a pretty penny for this or, and this would be my personal preference, leave the consumer market and sell it to businesses as a B2B solution. Selling to consumers is going to be futile - you may make money for 2-3 people to pay their bills, but you will not make money to justify an external investment.

maxklein 17y ago

I can understand that there is a category of travellers that would need something like this, but what I don't see is the money. I.e, rebooking a flight is an emotionally taxing activity. It's like being in the supermarket and deciding if you should switch to the other line or stay in your line. It's a very small decision and the difference in time lost or gained is tiny, but emotionally, it's a pretty big decision. Rebooking a flight is also an emotionally expensive decision, and if I would ever trust flightcaster, it has to really be completely accurate all of the time. I would kick myself if I rebooked and something went wrong. SO! We were talking about the money - the business is like a drill down list, and in each step, you have a smaller number: Travellers > Travellers who care about being on time > Travellers who are internet saavy > Travellers who have heard of your app > Travellers who want your app > Travellers who will pay for your app. With that depth in the list, you better be charging a pretty penny for this or, and this would be my personal preference, leave the consumer market and sell it to businesses as a B2B solution. Selling to consumers is going to be futile - you may make money for 2-3 people to pay their bills, but you will not make money to justify an external investment.