Routehappy has secured an additional $3 million in funding to launch its Routehappy Hub for airlines and has named five of the 10 carriers with which it is creating content.
United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Swiss International Airlines, Qantas and Icelandair are among those working with Routehappy on its software-as-a-service platform. The Routehappy Hub enables airlines to manage product content, provide details on services and amenities on specific routes or flights and transmit that data to direct and indirect distribution channels, founder and CEO Bob Albert said. Routehappy also is in discussions with "major distributors" about integration, though he would not name anyone specifically at this point. Routehappy already began incorporating data with Serko earlier this year. Expedia is a user as well.
At its core, the Routehappy Hub centers on "universal product attributes," a content standard with which travelers can assess potential flights beyond price and schedule.
"Airlines have spent a lot of money differentiating products and services, including product updates or tickets and fares with different rules and policies," Albert said. "All of these products need to be organized and conveyed to consumers, so we have focused on building for the entire industry the platform and pipes that will allow airlines to create that content and decide where that will go."
The hub removes the need for airlines to market with "bullet points and asterisks," Albert said. For example, airlines that offer free wine and beer only on domestic routes could make that clear whether it applies upon booking, or carriers could tout certain amenities__Delta and JetBlue's sleep kits, for example, he said. With corporate booking tool integration on the radar, such tools could incorporate negotiated benefits into the UPA to get "predefined benefits in front of a corporate traveler," he said.
With the latest round of funding, from Par Capital Ventures along with some of its existing investors, Albert said to expect more partnership announcements this fall.