If you love to travel, then you have certainly stepped foot in many airports and on many airplanes. While the destinations are often fun and enjoyable, finding good flight deals is a daunting task. One site hoping to help you get the most of your money is Hopper.
Hopper Background Story
The company’s website states, “Hopper is made up of hundreds of smart, creative, and inspired humans working to fundamentally change how the world books travel.” The mobile travel services launched its app in 2015. According to their fact sheet, the app accumulates over $1.5 million in-flight sales per day. It’s also rated the #1 travel app in 37 countries.
How Hopper Works
The services use a complex algorithm that processes trillions of data points, that will then make accurate personalized travel recommendations. In plain terms, Hopper takes a collection of five to ten billion airfare quotes each day. These data points are then collected and archive. These historical flight fares are then utilized to determine fare prices on select airlines up to six months in advance. After setting a departure date, the application will notify you when the best time to buy is. The app monitors your trip dates 24 hours a day and sends notifications to purchase now, wait to purchase, and flight increases or expected decreases.
Walking You Through the Process
You can download the Hopper app in the Google Play Store or App Store on Apple devices. When you open the app you must sign up for an account. Once logged in, the home screen of the app asks you if you want to search for a flight or hotel. After clicking flight type in your home airport, or the airport you wish to fly out of and your arrival destination and search.
Your search results should come in the form of a color-coded set of calendars. The color green is the cheapest estimated fare and red is marked the highest. Scroll the calendar to pick your dates of travel. After you have made your selections a screen will display showing you the lowest rate per traveler for the itinerary. If you chose to book now a list of flight times, airlines, and segments will show and you can pick and pay for your travel.
If you are not ready to book click the, “watch this trip” button. This selection will provide you notifications on your itinerary if the price goes up or down, or you can travel out of a nearby airport for a better fare.
Cool Features and Trips I’m watching
If you like the price now and want to lock it in so you can get your funds together, Hopper offers a price freeze. You can freeze flight prices for up to 7 days with a $20 deposit down per traveler. If the flight price increases during that time and you go to purchase it, Hopper will cover the price hike up to $200. Also if you book a flight within the seven days you will get back your deposit. Another feature of the app includes ecreate fares on plane tickets and hotel rooms.
I’m currently using the app to watch my trip from New York to Bali. It started over $800 and is down to $723 for my selected dates. The app predicts the route will likely drop to $544 within the next 6 months. I am also watching Atlanta to London. The current price is $807 per traveler and Hopper predicts over the next five weeks the price will come down to $622.
I hope that you have been inspired and that you will choose Hopper to help cut the cost of your travel
