AirAsia targets the spontaneous with launch of group buying site TripGroupy

AirAsia’s newest product will take fly you around Asia for up to 60 percent off regular airfares on two stipulations: you’re able to book two weeks ahead of departure and you can convince five friends to come along.

TripGroupy lists a new set of flight deals every five days for which flyers must sign up for a limited number of seats. They must then share the deal via social media to increase the chances that all seats are booked. An average of three to seven seats must be booked for flyers to redeem the deal, and flyers are prompted to complete payment once all seats are booked.

“An analysis of the travel market  led us to the conclusion that there was an opportunity to address a segment of the market that was being under serviced – the travel market.

We decided to utilize a group buying model as it is a format that people are comfortable with, and the bulk purchase aspect allows us to lock in the lowest prices,” says Matt O’Leary, the Head of Product Management in AirAsia’s Technology & Innovation team.

The discounted tickets are sold exclusively on AirAsia flights, and O’Leary says the prices offered are 40 to 60 percent cheaper than the lowest fares found online.

In spirit of the spontaneous traveler, only one-way tickets are currently offered, but return flight deals could be added in the future.

Update: AirAsia will be testing a number of different formats during the beta period to see what works best in terms of deal period and travel period.