AIR FARE INNOVATION SHORTLISTED FOR NATIONAL AWARD

A revolution on dynamic pricing is taking place in Southampton that will save travellers thousands of pounds and has been shortlisted for a prestigious award.

pAiback is an AI-powered travel assistant designed to ensure travellers never overpay for a flight – even after booking.

The platform monitors flight prices in real-time and automatically secures refunds or e-credits when prices drop, without customers ever lifting a finger.

The idea is the brainchild of 23-year-old Aeronautical Engineer Morgan Taylor, who scooped a prize at Southampton University’s enterprise competition, funded by charity EIBF.

Morgan has been supported in the development of pAiback by co-founders Tom Alner and Jason Lucking. Morgan will now compete against nine other talented teams from across the UK in EIBF’s Champion of Champions Competition.

Morgan said: “Unlike Expedia and Google’s price protection services, which come with fees, limits, and no visibility into price changes, pAiback offers full transparency and unlimited savings on a win- win commission basis. This is possible due to the recent removal of change fees to drive airline loyalty engagement. Customers can easily track these fare fluctuations on their personalised dashboard from purchase to departure.

“The idea for pAiback was sparked when a companion ticket was booked, turning a business trip into a weekend getaway. Despite booking closer to the departure date, the new ticket was significantly cheaper than the one originally paid for, even on an economy fare. This happened again on a second trip, and after noticing the price dropped for a third time, contacted customer service, who reissued his ticket and gave a credit for the difference – at no extra charge. Realising how time-consuming it was to repeatedly monitor prices, pAiback was created to automate this process.”

The Champion of Champions grand final will take place at the Royal Academy of Engineering on Friday 8 November, where Morgan will compete for a share of the £16,500 prize pot, providing vital seed money to help winners develop their innovation.

Winners will also receive mentoring from business leaders who are members of the Sainsbury Management Fellows network, plus CV packages from PurpleCV and entrepreneurial books from Cambridge University Press and Double your Price, an award-winning book by David Falzani MBE, which covers how pricing works with practical insights, tools and actionable guidance.

The event, hosted by TV presenter and engineer Rob Bell, is the culmination of a year of EIBF-sponsored enterprise competitions held across UK universities, with thousands of undergraduate and graduates taking part.

Each year, EIBF champions business education for engineers and supports universities by giving them grants to award prizes to engineering students who develop ideas that can make a positive impact on society.

On being shortlisted for the grand finale, Morgan said: “it is incredibly validating to be recognised by EIBC, and even more so to be a finalist, that believes in the potential of my idea. The opportunity to gain alternate perspectives and different opinions by other entrepreneurs and experts is what we strive to do as a business. Entrepreneurship isn’t a static process and EIBC and Southampton has been encouraging to push those thoughts further.”

Sara Campin, Student Enterprise, University of Southampton, said: “The cost of air travel has risen considerably in recent years and price fluctuations are incredibly frustrating for the consumer, especially when they miss out on a good deal. But no one has the time to real-time monitor price changes, let alone go through the process of contacting the airline to initiate a manual change. PAiback offers an innovate solution, giving the power back to the consumer and delivering them significant cost savings. We are excited to see where Morgan and the team can take this promising venture.”