Ryan Kirvida

On a wing and a fare By Erin Peterson For online bargain hunters, few things may be as frustrating as trying to find the best deal on an airline ticket. With ticket prices that can fluctuate hundreds of dollars in a few hours, getting a good buy can seem more like an art than a science. A new online site developed by entrepreneur Robert Metcalf, flyspy.com, promises to take the guesswork out of airline ticket purchases. And with the help of professors, graduate students, and MBA students at the Carlson School of Management, he's been able to hone his idea, use data more effectively, and create more opportunities for profit. Flying Straightforward The concept behind Flyspy is straightforward: By showing all available flights and prices to a specific destination during a 30-day window, it offers users a way to make more informed decisions. Users will know to pounce on a deal today, or wait a week to pick up a bargain. As Metcalf worked on his project, he came across the work of Alok Gupta, now chair of the Department of Information and Decision Sciences, and Nelson Granados, doctoral candidate, who had done work on information transparency strategies for online travel sites. Metcalf contacted them, asking for help as he developed Flyspy. Gupta says the collaboration was a perfect fit. "Since Flyspy provides an innovative way of providing more consumable information to consumers, our research and results were of interest to Bob," he says. "We could help apply academic research to real-world problems in real time." A case competition helps entrepreneur Granados, now a faculty member at Pepperdine, saw the work as an opportunity for students in his Information Technology Management class to get experience working with an entrepreneur. He created a case competition where students' input would be considered—and possibly implemented—by Metcalf. Over several weeks, small teams developed plans to squeeze every dime out of the data. With guidance from Metcalf and Granados, the teams shaped plans to the needs and limitations of the company. The winning team, consisting of students Martin Bonsager, Igor Chechelnitsky, Spencer Helms, Ryan Kirvida, and Katy Olson, presented their ideas to Metcalf. While the students drew on their own research and used information provided by Metcalf, some of their best ideas came from their own experiences as (often frustrated) online ticket buyers. One idea was to use historical price data in addition to future price data. By seeing the ebb and flow of prices in the previous year, site visitors can gauge when to buy a ticket. Knowing it's been cheaper in the past to travel to Jamaica in July than February, for example, could allow people to plan ticket purchases that will give them the best possible deal. "There's a seasonality in airfare destination prices, and a 30-day window might not show the optimal time of year to go to a destination," explains Helms. "But if consumers can see every month of year, that might help them out." Another recommendation was to show data for flights to cities in broad regional swaths, rather than a single destination, to appeal to travelers looking for ideas. For example, someone starting vacation planning might want to visit southern Europe, but not know exactly when or where to travel. Creating a travel center "We hoped to turn Flyspy into more of a travel center so that people could come there, do their browsing, and then buy a flight," explains Olson. "The more repeat visitors you get, the more advertising revenue you gain." As the online airfare market grows increasingly competitive, such advantages could play a crucial role in determining the success or failure of the fledgling company. One challenge of the project, say group members, was learning to think smaller instead of bigger. "We had grand ideas that would take a Microsoft-sized corporation to implement," says Bonsager. "But [Metcalf is] not Microsoft, and he needed things that were simple and straightforward to add." Group members are eager to learn which features Flyspy actually implements when it formally launches this fall. They are also grateful for the experience of working with someone in the field. "It was motivating to work on a case where we were actually working with the owner, going through a process, and building a relationship," says Kirvida. "There's a sense of ownership, and having this real-world experience will pay off down the road."