FlightCaster Acquired!
We're pleased to announce that FlightCaster has been acquired by Next Jump Inc. It's a good day here at FlightCaster HQ (freakin' phenomenal day!), and we're stoked about the new possibilities.
Before we go any further, let us address our users. FlightCaster.com will stay right where it is and continue to provide flight delay prediction for free. We're also making our mobile app free -- you can download it now. We'll continue to use our powerful algorithms to predict flight delays. We'll continue to push the envelope on getting the best travel intelligence to people when they need it.
Now, for a bit of context. While our flight delay prediction products are our most public-facing applications in production, we've actually been working on a lot of other stuff in the background. The biggest item in production over the past year has been an engine for travel discounts. We realized early in 2010 that helping travelers and businesses save on travel is as important as helping them get to their destination on-time. As we really dug into this space, we met the team at Next Jump and were blown away with their insights into discounts.
So who is Next Jump and why are we joining forces with them? For those of you who don't remember, Next Jump came out of stealth mode in late 2009. They are a leading source of discounts and loyalty programs and an increasingly powerful player in e-commerce. They power a number of web properties, such as the MasterCard Marketplace and Corporate Perks, which provide proprietary discounts and rewards to employees of member companies -- 90,000 companies in total. Think of it as a Groupon for brand names such as Best Buy, Sony, and Apple.
As proud experts in finding every possible travel deal, we were shocked to learn that we save so much money buying travel through Corporate Perks. The system works by giving you Next Jump WOWPoints when you purchase travel through your usual sites such as Priceline, Expedia, or Orbitz. You can then turn those points into cash or use them to get free stuff. We literally started booking all of our travel through Corporate Perks because we'd get the normal Priceline price plus rewards points equal to an additional 5% discount. Boo-yah, free money. After getting hooked on their product, we reached out to partner with them, and yada, yada, yada, here we are.
James, Jon, Evan, Jason, Jared, and Chase are full-time at Next Jump now, enjoying the ridiculous perks. We're in NYC for a couple of months and then we'll open up the SF office. Our bud Brad Cross is working with us part-time while he gets his newest brilliant creation off the ground.
So, what's next? Next Jump is a platform for discounts built on great data, and we love tackling data problems. We've set out to make Next Jump the best place to purchase travel and will be working on innovative travel products that best serve our consumers.
To those of you in the travel community, stay tuned for what's coming from Next Jump Travel. Evan will keep you informed on this blog, in addition to his usual ranting and raving about the travel industry.
Thank you everyone!
The FlightCaster Crew
Posted by Evan
