OneGo Unlimited Flying Service Shows Promise, Needs Work

The dream of many frequent flyers came true earlier this month when OneGo, a startup based out of Washington D.C., revealed its subscription-based service offering unlimited flights on major carriers.

There are caveats, of course, but with the right amount of flexibility and a lot of careful planning there’s plenty of value to extract. So many signed up for the service to give it a trial. What they found was an app that’s good in concept — and that may one day be good in practice — but that still needs a bit of time in the oven.

OneGo works by offering “unlimited” discount economy flights on major carriers (up to four segments booked at a time) within a set domestic region for a one month subscription  fee. At its most expensive, the service charges $2,950 for a national plan plus a $495 account creation fee. All travel is booked through OneGo’s companion app, which automatically searches for available segments and carriers.

So far, the most thorough testing has been done over at The Points Guy. Associate Editor Emily McNutt signed up for the service earlier this month and mapped out a spiderweb of tickets east of the Mississippi for a grand total of $2,795. Though the first round of flights went well, the second got caught up in a round of internal booking errors. OneGo, unfortunately, was having problems booking tickets through American Airlines’ reservation system that day.

In the end, OneGo and the McNutt concluded that the system wasn’t ready for comprehensive stress with American’s system and OneGo refunded the initial fees. And to their credit, according to a follow up story, OneGo provided excellent customer service throughout the booking process and bug hunt.

Still, the app and the concept show promise. For heavy business travelers that want the simplicity of picking a segment and getting on an airplane while still earning miles and elite status, OneGo is a good alternative to flying private or working with an expensive travel agent. And provided the wrinkles iron out, there remain plenty of opportunities for flexible travelers to get their money’s worth if they’re looking to aggressively travel (say, for a mileage run). Though OneGo may have gotten off to a rocky start, they still have plenty of cards left in their hand.