The headache of modern-day air travel begins at the backlit screen. Navigating one’s way through the matrix of airlines and flights to find what’s quick and cheap (or hopefully both) is an acute skill, and one that takes tens of thousands of flight miles to grapple. But the new startup OneGo, which just launched nationwide after a month of beta testing, aims to smooth out the often turbulent experience of commercial air travel. In short: unlimited domestic flights for a flat monthly rate.
Imitating the consumer model popularized by Netflix, subscriptions to OneGo, which range from $1,500 to $2,950 per month, grant users unlimited access to economy seats (premium cabin seats aren’t yet available) on domestic flights operated by a slew of commercial carriers, including Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, JetBlue Airways, United Airlines and Virgin America.
Subscribers can choose from one of three region-based, month-to-month subscription plans (no long-term commitments required), which allow for transport within an established network of routes and cities divided by western, central and eastern United States, or an all-encompassing national plan, which covers over 700 routes between 76 cities across the country. Most of these are major transportation hubs, such as Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago, though smaller destinations like Tulsa and Aspen are also included. Though OneGo only allows users to hold four reservations at any given time — each of which must be made seven days ahead of a flight’s scheduled departure — a $750 add-on will grant up to eight reservations, while an extra $1,950 per month allows for last-minute bookings.
It’s not cheap. But OneGo doesn’t brand itself as a bargain tool, though the company does hope to save its subscribers airfare in the long run by stabilizing the cost of air travel. The company mostly hopes to attract frequent flyers by eliminating the opportunity cost involved in charting flights across the country every time a traveler needs to fly. “When you search for flights today, you are presented with so many options that make finding the best flight very difficult,” wrote OneGo founder Paulius Grigas. “When you take price out of the equation and replace it with a flat monthly fee, you gain the freedom to fly as much as you need for your business without having to consider anything other than your flight’s arrival and departure times.”
OneGo’s mobile app, scheduled to hit Apple’s app store on March 1, with an Android OS version promised shortly thereafter, is now available to download on its website.