SkyLounge - Facebook for frequent flyers

Hi Daniel,

You should not read press releases with a jet lag and then write about it :) it becomes horribly inaccurate ha-ha.

You cannot see who's on the same flight. Skylounge does not ask for flight numbers or even the airline you are flying with. Just destination and dates. If you know that a colleague from the American Airlines crew lounge is flying from ex: New York to Melbourne on the same day as you and there is only one flight then you can be sure you will be flying together.

Here is the press release you are referring too:

New York New York, June 17th 2008. Many airline crew wonder time and time again with which co-workers they will be traveling. An online business travel network has found a unique solution by creating interactive travel Lounges that will tell members who will be at the same destination at the same time.

The site is called SkyLounge and focuses on business travelers that do not like leaving anything up to coincidence. Members can sign up for free and use multiple tools that are geared towards business travelers from restaurant guides to Forums.

“The Lounges are unique and very easy to use. Say you join the ‘American Airlines crew Lounge (unofficial). You add your upcoming trips and that’s it. If there are members that are going to the same destination as you we will send you an automatic email trip alert. This will give you a good indication of who will be on the same flight. You can also see who you went to school with or who lives in your area. Why do you have to feel like it’s your first day on the job every time you fly? Know your team before departure and stay in touch. Car pooling, site seeing, dinners, etc. the possibilities are endless” says founder Marcel van Gemerden

SkyLounge expects that many companies and employees will open new Lounges.

“Join the GE staff Lounge (unofficial) or the Shell Globe Trotters (unofficial). One click on ‘Sky View’ and you will know who is in what city and who is attending what tradeshow. You can organize upcoming Lounge member trips by name, destination, or date. Sharing taxi’s, flights, information, meeting co-workers from other offices can create synergies within a company that will save time, money and make trips more enjoyable” says van Gemerden

For the business travelers that cannot leave their golf bag at home there is the “Golf Connection Lounge”

“This lounge connects golfers from all over the world and allows them to challenge other members for 18 holes and maybe even a drink at the 19th. It’s nice to be able to meet up with a fellow Lounge member you know you have something in common with instead of ending up playing with someone that might not speak your language. ”. van Gemerden said.

Sky Lounges are Unique.

“We are very excited to be the first site with Interactive travel Lounges. It’s easy to use, saves time, money and is free for all. It takes 3 minutes to open a lounge. You can decide to make the group public or private. We currently have 50 Lounges and expect to have 250 Lounges within the next two months.

Happy travels!