easyJet, a low-cost British airline, has unveiled a new app that allows users to book flights and schedule their next vacation with the help of their Instagram accounts. The new feature is called look&book, and it relies on geolocation tagging to find out where an Instagram photo was taken so you can book a flight there.
World travelers have long used Instagram as a tool to find exciting new vacation spots, but the process of actually booking a flight based on an Instagram post has proven to be cumbersome. It was up to the curious user to find out where a photo was taken if it wasn’t tagged with a location, search Google for a nearby airport, and then contact an airline to inquire about airline ticket prices. easyJet streamlines that process. All users need to do is upload an interesting Instagram screenshot to look&book, and easyJet will tell you where the photo was taken, suggest travel dates, and show users the price points that are currently available. When a user finds a booking that works best for them, they can then easily and seamlessly purchase tickets using easyJet’s app.
As of right now, the look&book feature can only be used to book flights to Europe, Iceland and Northern Africa, the regions where easyJet operates. This might sound discouraging for those who were excited about seeing the world, but the very fact that a feature such as look&book exists is exciting in itself. As stated before, people have been using Instagram to plan vacations and learn about the world for some time now. As apps such as easyJet make that easier, we should see more features such as look&book in the very near future.
Of course, if you do happen to use look&book or a similar app to plan your next vacation, be sure to upload plenty of photos to your Instagram account. Your best vacation photos could inspire someone to travel the world.