photo by Aero Icarus via Flickr
You have to wonder how many times business entrepreneur Paulius Grigas swiped an unlimited monthly metro card before the idea struck him — why not do the same for air travel?
That’s the underlying premise of OneGo, a single monthly flying package for traveling professionals that covers unlimited flights on airlines like American, Delta, United, and Virgin America for a $1,500 monthly fee, plus it comes with Gogo Wi-Fi , TSA PreCheck, and one free checked bag on every flight. With such a deal, the company promises it can “eliminate those little things that get in the way of doing more business like filing endless expense reports and the hassles of organizing travel.”
Or as the basic pitch goes on the website:
“When you’re a busy, on-the-go professional, you know that half the battle when it comes to travel is booking and managing your flights.”
Considering it only takes 2-3 flights per month to exceed the $1,500, we’re pretty skeptical about the longevity of OneGo’s lifespan. However, the startup believes it will still make money in the big picture, when costs are spread across the network. Plus, the service gains additional revenue from add-ons to their plan, like last minute bookings ($1,000 per month) and unlimited changes to reservations ($750), not to mention the $750 sign up fee.
screenshot from OneGo website
Naturally, there are some caveats: OneGo only works for flights booked at least seven days ahead of time, you can have no more than four open reservations at once, and there are extra charges for anything outside of the parameters of the package, like last-minute booking.
The service also plans to operate only around the West Coast at first, covering 14 cities from Seattle to Tuscon, with the most stops in California, but additional routes are promised. To do the actual booking, you’ll just need the mobile OneGo App for your phone once the service goes live this fall.