Re:FlightCaster (YC S09) Takes Off With $1.3 Million In Fund...
by teej on Monday November 23, 2009 @11:49PM
(#958731)
I wish FlightCaster was available last June.
Fresh from my wedding, I waited in Dulles airport with my wife to take a trivial flight to JFK. From there, I would catch an international flight off to my honeymoon. Of course, things are never that easy.
It started with United claiming weather issues at JFK. Understandable, as getting delayed in to New York is a common occurrence. But we noticed things weren't adding up when the scheduled departure time would come and go while we were still on the ground. United delayed our flight -and no other- 30 minutes at a time for 6 hours straight.
I tried to find out what was going on. I checked FAA reports, I called multiple airline booths in both airports, no one could explain why -only- our flight was delayed and why it had been delayed for so long.
With FlightCaster, I get the ability to calculate opportunity cost. For my case, we missed our international connection, had to pay for a last-minute hotel in New York, and lost a day of our honeymoon. The direct cost to us, in both economical and emotional terms, was WAY higher than the cost of switching to a different flight.
Knowing the winning horse after the race is useless intel. But knowing which horse has a edge is powerful information before the fact.
Fresh from my wedding, I waited in Dulles airport with my wife to take a trivial flight to JFK. From there, I would catch an international flight off to my honeymoon. Of course, things are never that easy.
It started with United claiming weather issues at JFK. Understandable, as getting delayed in to New York is a common occurrence. But we noticed things weren't adding up when the scheduled departure time would come and go while we were still on the ground. United delayed our flight -and no other- 30 minutes at a time for 6 hours straight.
I tried to find out what was going on. I checked FAA reports, I called multiple airline booths in both airports, no one could explain why -only- our flight was delayed and why it had been delayed for so long.
With FlightCaster, I get the ability to calculate opportunity cost. For my case, we missed our international connection, had to pay for a last-minute hotel in New York, and lost a day of our honeymoon. The direct cost to us, in both economical and emotional terms, was WAY higher than the cost of switching to a different flight.
Knowing the winning horse after the race is useless intel. But knowing which horse has a edge is powerful information before the fact.