For $49 annually, MySeatFinder searches airline seat maps daily to try to secure subscribers’ preferred seats.
How important is it to fly comfortably?
Very. At least that’s what two local entrepreneurs were banking on when they recently launched MySeatFinder, Inc.—an Excelsior-based company that’s designed to give travelers an advantage at the gate and on the plane.
The company operates Web site myseatfinder.com, which is aimed at frequent flyers. It is the brainchild of Magnum Technologies co-founder and former executive Tim Hadden and Cisco Systems, Inc., executive Steve Gordon, both of whom also previously worked at Northwest Airlines.
Using your frequent flyer number and pin, myseatfinder.com finds your upcoming flights, looks at your seat assignment, and then compares it to your self-selected seat preferences. If you are assigned to a seat that differs from your top seating preference, the Web site searches airline seat maps daily, looking for a better airplane seat. If and when it finds one, it changes your seat assignment for you.
“We’re frequent travelers too and have been frustrated by the challenges that air travel presents,” the Web site says. “It’s clear to us that we all want to avoid wedging our knees between the seatbacks or being crammed into a row where there’s just no room to move at all.”
The Web site searches seats in order of each subscriber’s preferences and continues to look for upgrades until the top preference is booked. Options include exit-row aisle, bulk-head aisle, exit-row window, bulk-head window, aisle, and window.
MySeatFinder provides services to those who are frequent flyers with Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and United Airlines. It’s working on deals with other carriers as well.
MySeatFinder is now offering no-obligation, free 30-day trials to travelers who sign up through the Web site. Subscriptions cost $49 per year.
Hadden serves as the company’s president and CEO, while Gordon is its board chairman.
—Christa Meland
(cmeland@tcbmag.com)