eDreams ODIGEO paves way for customer transparency with new AI-powered global flight price tracker service

• Innovative functionality creates price index in the form of a dashboard to consumers, enabling them to identify the most cost-effective time to book a flight  

• New functionality enables travellers to track best flight options for travel in the post-COVID19 era, showing and comparing current prices with average prices one year ago

• The AI-driven dashboard aggregates over 14 billion datapoints from 660 airlines and provides trends on fare fluctuations to help customers make the most informed decisions on when and where to book

• An interactive  world map empowers travellers to explore destinations offering the best value for money

• The move is set to inspire consumers to plan their travels in the post-COVID-19 era and follows news that the European Union has pushed to reopen internal borders  

• Signposts for free rebooking and flexibility options are also available across eDreams ODIGEO’s websites and apps 

eDreams ODIGEO, Europe’s largest online travel company and one of the largest European e-commerce businesses, announced the introduction of an innovative  AI-powered flight price index. The product, which will be available on eDreams ODIGEO’s Opodo brand in the UK, puts consumer transparency at the core of the business’ innovations and enables customers to get ahead of eventual price fluctuations in the post COVID-19 travel landscape. 

From now on, consumers will be able to identify and track the most affordable time to book flights as well as the most cost-effective destination to visit by consulting the AI-driven dashboard that aggregates over 14 billion datapoints from 660 airlines to compare current flight prices with average prices one year ago (please see figure 1). 

Figure 1. Price trends for domestic flights

The new functionality enables consumers to identify the most affordable time in the year to book domestic, continental and intercontinental flights ahead of time, providing price comparisons between bookings made one month, three months and six months before departure (see figure 2). 

As movement restrictions start to lift and ease globally, consumer demand for travel is expected to resume. The new functionality allows eDreams ODIGEO customers to save money, both when deciding the best moment to book as well as when identifying the most affordable destination to visit. For example, current information being displayed by the tool shows that travellers planning a continental trip in the next three months can now enjoy the highest price reductions at -29% in comparison to a price reduction of just -3% for those looking to book a domestic flight within the same time frame (see figure 2). Together with regular signposting for flexible bookings, the newly launched index aims to help consumers make the most informed decisions for their future trips. 

Figure 2. Price comparisons when booking one, three and six months in advance

The new service also provides an interactive map for travellers, offering a visually stimulating method for consumers to find the most discounted options whilst choosing their next travel destination. The platform will also include price prediction functionalities in the coming weeks.

Christoph Dieterle, Chief Product and Retail Officer at eDreams ODIGEO, commented, “We are confident that the challenging times that we are living in will be over sooner than later. Once movement restrictions are lifted, people will be taking trips to discover the world and reconnect with their loved ones again, and there needs to be choice and flexible travel options available to them when that moment comes. As one of the largest flight retailers in the world, we are proud to continuously leverage our tech capabilities to offer transparency and excellence to the millions of travellers who regularly book with us. With this new tracker service, savvy consumers can feel confident in their travel decisions; our new dashboards empower our customers to plan further ahead and save money when embarking on their much-awaited post-lockdown travels”

Please visit https://www.opodo.co.uk/merch/trends/ to trial the new AI-powered flight price index.

About eDreams ODIGEO

eDreams ODIGEO is one of the world’s largest online travel companies and one of the largest e-commerce businesses in Europe. Under its four leading online travel agency brands – eDreams, GO Voyages, Opodo, Travellink, and the metasearch engine Liligo – it serves more than 18 million customers per year across 46 markets. Listed on the Spanish Stock Market, eDreams ODIGEO works with over 660 airlines and has partnerships with 130. The brand offers the best deals in regular flights, low-cost airlines, hotels, cruises, car rental, dynamic packages, holiday packages and travel insurance to make travel easier, more accessible, and better value for consumers across the globe.