That's what the carrier hopes to do with a new product that's similar to the popular Ding! software distributed by rival Southwest Airlines. Ding! runs on a desktop computer, and it alerts the user when Southwest fares go on sale in preferred cities.
American says its software, called DealFinder, goes further. Travelers can input specific cities, travel dates and even the price they want to pay. The software checks prices on American flights several times a day, and an alert pops up if a suitable fare is located.
The Fort Worth-based airline will also occasionally provide exclusive deals for users of the software, said Rob Friedman, American's director of interactive marketing.
American executives say DealFinder, which has been in the works for about nine months, is more comprehensive than Ding! Some airline officials informally referred to it as "Dang!" and "the Ding! killer" while it was in development.
They point out that it goes beyond just fare sales, by searching for tickets at or below the maximum price a traveler is willing to pay, for specific travel dates.
"Our customers have unique needs," Friedman said. "This addresses that."
American began offering the program on a limited basis Wednesday on its Internet site, www.aa.com. DealFinder will be broadly available by the end of the month, Friedman said.
"We're already receiving some positive comments on it" after just a few hours of availability, he said. "We think it's going to be very successful."
story here
American says its software, called DealFinder, goes further. Travelers can input specific cities, travel dates and even the price they want to pay. The software checks prices on American flights several times a day, and an alert pops up if a suitable fare is located.
The Fort Worth-based airline will also occasionally provide exclusive deals for users of the software, said Rob Friedman, American's director of interactive marketing.
American executives say DealFinder, which has been in the works for about nine months, is more comprehensive than Ding! Some airline officials informally referred to it as "Dang!" and "the Ding! killer" while it was in development.
They point out that it goes beyond just fare sales, by searching for tickets at or below the maximum price a traveler is willing to pay, for specific travel dates.
"Our customers have unique needs," Friedman said. "This addresses that."
American began offering the program on a limited basis Wednesday on its Internet site, www.aa.com. DealFinder will be broadly available by the end of the month, Friedman said.
"We're already receiving some positive comments on it" after just a few hours of availability, he said. "We think it's going to be very successful."
story here
