Australian startup Seatfrog is looking to shake up the airline industry with a new app that will help you enjoy your flight more, as well as help airlines fill seats that may otherwise remain unfilled.
The plan for Seatfrog is simple, they aim to use an app for smartphones that lets you bid on premium seats available on your flight right up to the gate.
The startup, has today announced they have closed a $1.2 million seed funding round, has been backed by London backed venture capitalists HOWZAT Partners, the same team who back hotel search site Trivago. As well as backing from HOWZAT Partners, they’ve attracted a travel veteran to their board of advisors in the form of former Qantas International CEO and aviation veteran, Simon Hickey.
Seatfrog is launching globally this year, with a private beta running currently that you can sign up to for early access right now. There’s no information on whether the app is available for both Android and iOS, but it’s worth signing up for if you’re a frequent flyer just in case.
According to the company, their technology is already tightly integrated with airlines’ booking systems. The tight integration allows them to give airlines the opportunity to close off sales and award frequent flyer upgrades first, before allowing the Seatfrog bidding process to begin right up to the gate.
David Soskin, co-founder and partner at HOWZAT
Seatfrog is a great example of an outstanding founding team, a superior user experience and powerful technology. Essentially, it’s that wonderful confluence of the right idea, and the right business, at the right time.
Seatfrog has the potential to tap into the US$60 billion airline ancillary revenue industry, a fine place to be for an Australian startup.
If you’re a frequent flyer and want to try out Seatfrog, sign up for the Private Beta now to check it out.
