Just used Hipmunk for the first time, wow was that easy. Once they get the airlines on board directly, instead of via Orbitz, they will sail to the moon with this. A lot of "why didn't I think of this" is going through my head.
> However, in order for Hipmunk to be “not horrible,” the site will have to quickly expand its database which currently only includes flights from Orbitz.<p>It would be nice if TechCrunch gave a little more separation between narrating and the author's opinion. I'm pretty sure the above is just the author's opinion.<p>I disagree with it. There are a sizable number of people who only check Orbitz, so an improvement on the Orbitz search is welcome. I sometimes only check Expedia, and I only like Expedia a tiny bit better for booking flights (though when I'm also booking a hotel, I like them a <i>lot</i> better).
There's a particular comment there I found interesting:<p><i>There is value in Hipmunk no doubt, but I still can't get over that they are just hooked into a single affiliate offer and were able to get $1 million in angel funding, two posts (and video!) from TechCrunch on what is really only a feature but is being pitched as a complete business.</i><p>Only a feature.<p>I just want to shake people sometimes.<p>It's not <i>just</i> a feature. It is <i>the</i> feature. Buying a plane ticket is the single biggest element of making travel decisions. The experience for discovering the optimal balance of carrier, connections and price is, let's be clear, one of <i>the most important, expensive and stressful</i> elements of planning a trip.<p>What Hipmunk has demonstrated here is that they are in the business of making an important, universal process much easier. They've demonstrated a very specific insight for solving the problem.<p>So if they can, from day one, make <i>money</i> doing this while hinting at their unique insight, that shit is magic for anyone looking to make an early bet on a consumer product. Imagine what they'll be able to do with the rest of the travel space.<p>Who wouldn't want in on that action?<p>There's a pretty clear pattern of success for businesses who turn up and remove the bullshit from useful but sloppy product categories: Google, Facebook and Mint, for example.