SafetravelRX to add 'Jump-the-Line' for Disruption Mgmt.

Duty-of-care app SafetravelRX is launching a new service to help travelers manage arrangements during major travel disruptions, the company announced.

The "Jump-the-Line" service, set to launch on April 15, connects travelers to a SafetravelRX travel counselor who can arrange plane tickets and provide new hotel and ground transportation arrangements as necessary, according to SafetravelRX co-founder and CEO Ron DiLeo. 

The service comes with a guarantee that a counselor will be available within two minutes of phoning through the app. Counselors remain available to callers for up to two hours following their initial contact, he said.

The idea is not to compete with TMC models but to provide a "simpler framework" when travelers need new arrangements quickly, according to DiLeo. Unlike a TMC, the Jump-the-Line service does not change or cancel a traveler's existing reservation but makes new bookings through global distribution systems at published fares and rates. It will look for the least expensive alternatives available that meet a travelers' needs but cannot access corporate negotiated deals with preferred suppliers, he said.

"For years, our app has been the duty-of-care solution of choice for much of the [small and midsized enterprise] business travel segment, offering travel safety and risk management alternatives along with a broad range of emergency medical provisions," DiLeo said in a statement. "We are now moving into the consumer space catering solely to service convenience that enables people to beat the airport lines and be on their way without being part of what we refer to as the 'abyss of everyone else.'"

Services are available only through the SafetravelRX app and are charged on a per-call basis, with the launch rate of $89.99 per call, according to DiLeo.