Travel tech company Pilota has launched a new product to keep air travelers safe as they book their flights and begin flying again. The product, FlySafe, is a free browser extension that shows travelers which safety precautions are being taken on each flight as they shop for travel. The product overlays the information directly on the online booking engines similar to Google Flights.

It’s no secret that travel, and especially air travel, has been at record lows over the last few months. People are concerned about the health and safety risks present while flying. Airlines, airports and every travel provider are continuously implementing new safety measures to keep travelers safe and restore their confidence in flying. However, it has been difficult for those interested in traveling to find this information as they plan their trips. CEO of Pilota, Saniya Shah and her team recognized this problem early on and started pulling together their data sets to build a solution.

The product, FlySafe, allows users to easily compare flight safety, health and flexibility precautions on the booking sites they are already using, like Google Flights, Expedia and others. It discreetly overlays these precautions on their flight search results, allowing them to quickly see what precautions each airline is taking to keep them safe from COVID-19. It also provides personalized ratings for each flight, which are generated based on the safety precautions that the user has selected. To make the process of comparing and considering flights easier, it even allows users to save the flights they are interested in, compare them across websites, get flight status, price changes, and much more all in one place.

FlySafe provides the following information for each flight:

• Mask Requirement: Many flights are requiring all crew and passengers to wear a mask prior to boarding the flight. The product will let travelers know if the flight they are viewing will require all crew and passengers to be wearing a mask.
• Seat Blocking: Some flights are blocking middle seats or a certain number of seats to increase the distance between passengers. The product will let travelers know if this measure will be implemented on the flight they are viewing.
• Capacity Capping: Many airlines are capping the capacity of their flights to avoid overcrowding on the plane. The product let’s traveler’s know if the flight they are viewing is going to be capping their maximum capacity below normal levels.
• Air Filtration: HEPA filters have been making the headlines recently as one of the precautions already implemented in planes to keep the air that travelers are breathing safe. The product lets travelers know if the flight’s aircraft is equipped with surgical grade HEPA air filters.
• Provided PPE: Some flights will be handing out masks or protective equipment to passengers prior to boarding the aircraft. The product will let travelers know whether to expect PPE to be provided for them on the flight they are viewing or if they should plan to bring their own.
• Boarding Sanitization Measures: Many new sanitization measures have been created to reduce the number of touchpoints and interactions between passengers and the gate staff. The product will let travelers know if these new measures will be implemented during boarding of the flight they are viewing.
• Social Distancing: Some flights are implementing social distancing measures during check in and boarding. The product will let travelers know if these measures will be implemented on the flight they are viewing.
• Cabin Sanitization: Many airlines have increased their cabin sanitization measures on their flights. The product will let travelers know if the flight they are viewing will be sanitized according to the new measures.
• Food Hygiene: For flights providing food and beverage service, many have implemented new measures to reduce touch points during food preparation and distribution. The product will let travelers know if these new measures are being implemented on the flight they are viewing.
• Flexible Policies: With the uncertainty prevalent right now, many passengers want to know if there are any flexible policies available before they book their ticket, such as waived change fees or options for refunds. The product will let travelers know if there are any flexible policies available on the flight they are viewing.

With the uptick in the number of passengers ready to fly again, information like this will be extremely helpful and valuable to these potential travelers. In order for the travel market to recover, it is going to be important to empower users to stay safe while traveling and provide them with the information needed to restore their confidence in travel again with products like FlySafe.

“We know how stressful it is to fly right now and we hope that FlySafe will bring some comfort and peace of mind to travelers that need to get in the air right now.” said Saniya Shah, CEO of Pilota.

About Pilota

Pilota is a venture backed travel tech startup based in New York City. The company was created by four Cornell University graduate students. It has been backed by notable venture funds such as 500 Startups and has been recognized by a number of industry organizations. The mission of this company is to use emerging technologies to assess travel risk, with their first product being an artificial intelligence platform to proactively detect and mitigate flight disruptions. https://www.flypilota.com/

Feature image courtesy of Pixabay