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Fareportal - CheapOair Service

Gold Stevie Award Winner 2012, Click to Enter The 2014 American Business Awards

Company: Fareportal
Company Description: Fareportal is a travel technology company that powers hybrid (online/traditional) travel agencies, such as #3 CheapOair and #7 OneTravel. Utilizing its innovative technology and company owned and operated contact centers, Fareportal has forged strong industry partnerships with over 450 airlines, 150,000 hotels and 100s of car rental companies to serve millions of customers every year.
Nomination Category: New Product & Service Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Consumer Services

Nomination Title: CheapOair

Tell the story about this nominated product or service (up to 650 words). Describe its function, features, benefits, and performance to date.

As the #3 most popular travel search website, right after Expedia/Orbitz and Priceline, CheapOair is the first hybrid online/traditional travel agency that enables consumers to book travel online, on mobile apps, by phone or live chat.

CheapOair bridges the gap between an online and traditional travel agency, with certified travel agents available 24/7 to help find deals and offers to destinations worldwide on over 450 airlines, 150,000 hotels, and 100s of car rentals.

CheapOair has achieved several critical milestones and successes during the past year:

1. CheapOair website:
a. CheapOair website handles an average of 15 million unique visitors and 325,000 bookings every month.
b. CheapOair sees average monthly increases in traffic of 10%.
c. CheapOair website won Best in Class in Website of the Year in Interactive Media Awards, Platinum in Travel Website of the Year in AVA Digital Awards in 2015 and Silver in Website of the Year in Horizon Interactive Awards, all in 2015.
d. The website is extraordinary from the back end perspective - fastest to load/search among its competitors, quickest path to booking (three clicks and you’re done) – and it also offers the easiest and most visually stunning experience for consumers.
e. With CheapOair, consumers can – a first in the online travel agent industry– book ancillaries, such as baggage, premium seats, priority boarding, right at the time of booking, with airlines such as American Airlines, Air Canada, US Airways, Lufthansa, Air Iberia, and more.
f. CheapOair website is the first travel website to offer SSL throughout all of its pages, and not just in shopping cart.

2. CheapOair mobile website:
a. CheapOair mobile website won gold in Mobile Website of the Year in MarCom Awards in 2015.

3. CheapOair app:
a. To further help consumers search for and book their flights no matter what device they’re using at the moment, CheapOair launched its iOS app. With the app, consumers can – a first in the industry – book ancillaries, such as baggage, premium seats, priority boarding, and even choose their exact seats.
b. Since launch, the app has been downloaded a total of over 3 million times and is downloaded 3,000-6,000 times a day. The app has been rated 4 or 5 stars by more than 80% of users.
c. CheapOair app was named to the Top 10 Travel Apps of the Year list by App Annie (in the U.S. and 78 other countries), was selected as one of Top 5 Travel Apps in the world by the Webby Awards, and won MarCom Awards and Horizon Interactive Awards.

4. CheapOair customer service:
a. CheapOair customer service receives more than 22,000 calls a day and more than 1,500 trips are booked through the department alone every week.
b. CheapOair’s customer service department was recently named winner in ‘Customer Focused Innovations of the Year’ category in 7th annual International Service Excellence Awards, organized by the Customer Service Institute of America and International Council of Customer Service Organizations. The department also won gold in Award for Innovation in Customer Service category in Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service in February 2015.

5. Customer satisfaction:
a. In a recent Google survey, 13% of CheapOair customers said they are brand ambassadors that love the brand and would defend it no matter what. Google said that the typical numbers for most admired companies – even ones like Disney – are 3-4%.
b. CheapOair has the highest percentage of happy customers. Top10Reviews published a Top 10 Online Travel Sites comparison, where CheapOair was the only online travel site with a perfect, 10 out of 10, score for help and support. TrustPilot also offers CheapOair a very high online customer ranking of 9 out of 10.

As the only hybrid online/traditional travel agency, with award-winning website, mobile website, app and customer service, CheapOair is truly the consumer service of the year.

In bullet-list form, briefly summarize up to ten (10) of the chief features and benefits of the nominated product or service.

1. CheapOair website:
a. handles an average of 15 million unique visitors and 325,000 bookings every month.
b. sees average monthly increases in traffic of 10%.
c. won Best in Class in Website of the Year in Interactive Media Awards, Platinum in Travel Website of the Year in AVA Digital Awards in 2015 and Silver in Website of the Year in Horizon Interactive Awards, all in 2015.

2. CheapOair app:
a. downloaded a total of over 3 million times
b. rated 4 or 5 stars by more than 80% of users
c. named to the Top 10 Travel Apps of the Year list by App Annie (in the U.S. and 78 other countries), was selected as one of Top 5 Travel Apps in the world by the Webby Awards, and won MarCom Awards and Horizon Interactive Awards.