Instalocate

Having a delayed or canceled flight is hardly a surprise these days. But what most frustrated and angry passengers — including avid global adventurers Pallavi and Ankur Jain — don't know is that they're entitled to get compensation for a flight disruption.

When Pallavi and Ankur’s flight was delayed due to technical difficulties during one vacation, they tried looking for another flight. But none were available, and the airline’s help desks were unresponsive. While registering a complaint online, they came across the “contract of carriage” and were shocked when they found out they were eligible to get 600 Euros (over USD 650) in compensation. Although they couldn’t make it home for Diwali, they received a check — and the idea for a business venture. In 2017, they started Instalocate, a personal AI assistant that tracks your flight in real time, predicts possible problems with your journey, and converts your flight delays into money.

“Our mission is to modernize the travel experience using a group of AI assistants to reduce your travel anxiety,” says Ankur.

Instalocate started using the WhatsApp Business app from day one of operations.

In order to help people get compensation from a delayed or canceled flight, they realized they would need certain documents like the boarding pass, which a lot of users find highly convenient to share over WhatsApp. They have observed that 25 percent of business conversions happen over the app.

“Most of our users are travelers who want instant information, and the app helps us connect to them in real time,” says Pallavi.

With the help of Instalocate and WhatsApp, having a delayed or canceled flight is a little less painful than it used to be.