Cheapair
{{Short description|American online travel agency}}
{{Infobox company
| logo =
| type = Privately held company
| foundation = {{start date and age|1989}}
| location = Agoura Hills, California, United States
| num_employees = 100+
| key_people = Jeff Klee (CEO)
Craig Fichtelberg (President)
| industry = Software, Travel, Internet, Travel agency
| products = Software
| homepage = {{URL|cheapair.com}}|
}}
File:Cheapair-logo-white background.png
CheapAir.com is an American online travel agency, established in 1989 by Jeff Klee. Based in Agoura Hills, California, with an additional office in Chicago, CheapAir is a privately owned company under the parent company AmTrav. According to Travel Weekly, CheapAir.com, under the parent company AmTrav, is ranked #38 on the 2022 Power List of Travel Agencies in the United States.
History
Founded in 1989 by CEO, Jeff Klee, out of his University of Michigan dorm room, CheapAir.com was originally known as 1-800-Cheap-Air prior to the website launch in 2000. In 1993 Craig Fichtelberg became a co-founder and president and began the nationwide expansion from California to Chicago to NYC.
In 2011, CheapAir.com announced Price Drop Payback, a program that guarantees to reimburse any price difference before a flight.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/travel/how-to-get-refunds-when-you-book-travel.html | title=Getting Refunds if the Price Drops| work=The New York Times | date=May 6, 2012 | url-access=subscription}}
In 2012, after airlines began adding ancillary revenue, CheapAir.com added amenities like WiFi, movies, Live TV, and power ports, to its online shopping display.{{cite news |url=https://www.phocuswire.com/CheapAir-details-flights-with-Wi-Fi-movies-live-TV |title=CheapAir details flights with Wi-Fi, movies, live TV | first=Dennis | last=Schaal | work=Phocuswire | date=February 1, 2012}}
In September 2012, CheapAir.com launched “Easy Search”, which lets users enter natural language to search for travel deals, becoming one of the first travel websites to offer semantic search.{{cite news | url=https://mashable.com/2012/09/28/cheapair-searching-travel-simpler/ |title=CheapAir Makes Searching For Travel Simpler, More Intuitive | work=Mashable |date=September 28, 2012}}
In March 2013, CheapAir.com created the first voice-activated flight search app for iOS devices.{{cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/columnist/digitaltraveler/2013/06/05/cheap-air-voice-search-app/2382657/ | title=Digital Traveler: Voice search app gives fingers a rest | work=USA Today | date=June 5, 2013}} The app won a Travel Weekly award and was named one of the best apps and websites for travelers.{{cite news | url=https://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/best-apps-and-websites-for-travelers | title=50 Apps and Websites to Optimize Your Vacation | first=CAILEY | last=RIZZO | work=Travel + Leisure |date=April 6, 2015}}
In November 2013, CheapAir.com became the first travel agency worldwide to accept bitcoin as an alternate form of payment for flights.{{cite web |url=https://video.foxbusiness.com/v/2870650794001/#sp=show-clips | title=Cheapair.com CEO on accepting bitcoin Latest News Videos | work=Fox Business |date=November 26, 2013}} In February 2014, CheapAir became the first travel agency worldwide to accept bitcoin as an alternate form of payment for hotels.{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2014/02/03/cheapair-accepting-bitcoins-flights-hotels/5184399/ |title=CheapAir.com adopts Bitcoins to book hotels |publisher=Usatoday.com |date=2014-02-04 |accessdate=2014-02-18}}. They stopped accepting cryptocurrency for payment in 2024.
In February 2015, CheapAir.com became the first U.S. travel agency to book direct flights from the U.S. to Cuba.{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/la-trb-cuba-cheapair-20150410-story.html |title=CheapAir selling direct U.S.-Cuba flights online; |work=Los Angeles Times |date=2015-04-15 | accessdate=2016-04-27}}
In July 2016, CheapAir.com was the first travel agency to launch a monthly payment option with Affirm allowing travelers to "Travel Now & Pay Later" for flights and hotels worldwide.{{cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/2016/08/29/pf/cheapair-airline-tickets-monthly-payments/ | title=CheapAir.com has teamed up with financial services company Affirm | work=CNN Money |date=September 2, 2016}}
In October 2022, CheapAir.com goes green with a new sustainable flight feature called “Green Choice.” {{cite news | url=https://www.abc27.com/business/press-releases/cision/20221024LA11695/cheapair-com-goes-green-with-new-sustainable-flight-feature/ | title=CheapAir Goes Green with New Sustainable Flight Feature | work=ABC News |date=October 24, 2022}}
In June 2024, CheapAir.com was acquired by TravelPerk. {{cite news | url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/small-business/2024/06/18/chicago-travel-company-amtrav-tech-firm-travelperk | title=Chicago travel company AmTrav bought by tech firm TravelPerk | work=Chicago Sun-Times |date=June 18, 2024}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|www.cheapair.com}}
Competitor
{{Travel ticket search engines}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:CheapAir}}
Category:American travel websites
Category:American companies established in 1989
Category:Internet properties established in 2000