This month I bought my first flight with Bitcoin, using ABitSky . Purchasing the flight was quick and easy, and the price was good. Founded in 2002 and based in Vilnius, Lithuania, ABitSky sells all its flights in Bitcoin since August 2014 .
“Looking for cheap flights? Well, we want to help you! Cheap flights search engine has hundreds of thousands of options. We will find cheap tickets to anywhere in the world and help you purchase them conveniently. We wish you a pleasant flight!” – aBitSky.com team
ABitSky is not the only cheap flight search engine and booking service that operates in Bitcoin. CheapAir is another flight booking service that accepts Bitcoin.
Bitcoin Transaction Cost Savings Transferred to Customers
A few days ago Destinia launched a week-long promotional campaign on all flights purchased with Bitcoins, with discounts that can reach up to 20% of the fair on flights. Destinia started accepting bitcoin payments in January 28th, 2014. Currently, 80% of flights offered on Destinia can be paid for using the virtual currency, and the company is working to extend this payment form to flights on all airlines. Monica E. Prieto, Commercial Director at Destinia, says:
“Traditional payment methods, like credit cards, have a cost for the company. We want to incentivize alternative payment methods that are beneficial, both for us and for our customers, while still being fast, safe and easy to use.”
After buying my ticket, I found a Reddit post titled “My (terrible) Experience Booking a flight with Destinia.com with Bitcoin .” According to this report, the company never bought the ticket that a customer had booked, which caused considerable hassle to the customer. Destinia posted an apology to the same Reddit thread and offered a full refund (not yet reportedly issued at this moment).
I must admit that I was a bit worried. We live in the takeoff phase of the Bitcoin economy, and some glitches are to be expected. But the flight went OK, and I look forward to using ABitSky in the future. I like it when I can operate within the Bitcoin economy – buying in Bitcoin without converting to fiat currency first.
What do you think of Bitcoin flight search and booking services? Comment below!
Images from pio3 and Shutterstock.
