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Comment by bluesign | Hacker News Reader

First of all this is a great service, and congratulations on the launch.

But...

After checking I am a bit disappointed:

- Istanbul: $235.00 Not including "Fast Track Immigration/Customs" for 2 passengers you can get local fast track card (I think it is around $500 for a year) which grants fast track on immigration/customs and also for all security checkpoints for 2 pax

- Amsterdam: $345.00 Includes fast track vs Privium Basic €121 yearly incl. VAT

- London: $220.00 Includes fast track vs AFAIK it is around 50 GBP for fast track for one time

Also I think if target is business travelers, a lot of airlines provide complimentary fast track for business class travelers. I don't recall not using fast track when flying business.

TBH I dont think Meet and Assist has big value, unless you provide some added value there.

Also at least I was expecting some lounge access on departures.

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I'm interested in Amsterdam too, but $345 is essentially 34.5% of the price of my direct flight. For many US folks $345 is going to be more than 50% of the ticket... Just way too hard to justify, even to an employer.

And frankly, the 5% discount they're throwing out is more insulting than offering no discounts at all.

Edit: I think to further clarify, the problem is that this seems most useful to casual/recreational travelers, but at business traveler pricing. E.g. if I fly to Amsterdam frequently for business, I'm not likely to need help navigating Schiphol AND you're competing with Privium (cheaper, more benefits). If I fly to Amsterdam as a tourist, I need the help but am unlikely to find the price appealing. IMO Solve is better off targeting casual travelers at a much cheaper cost and leave the business travelers to the clubs & memberships they already belong to.

Hey there! We're still working on the wording and how we're crafting the message, but where we say we include Fast Track Immigrations and Customs we have access to a dedicated fast track line or the diplomat line.

For airports where it says does not include, we usually have an expedited immigrations/customs. Another agent will go stand in line a head of time and you can cut in with them, or they'll know the immigration officer and simply walk you to the front. It's true for all airports we service except for the US airports.

We've found that a good amount of families and the elderly benefit from the meet and assist. We also have a fair amount of high profile clients that want to avoid the paparazzi.

We consider our agents problem solvers. For example, we had a client leave his phone and passport on the plane in Singapore. The agent ran back, talked to the airline staff, got onto the plane to grab the passport and phone and was back in 5 minutes.

Lastly, our agent syncs up with the driver or helps you buy a train ticket which has been a huge value for our clients. Basically not having to think about how to leave the airport - our agents are taking care of everything for you.

> Another agent will go stand in line a head of time and you can cut in with them, or they'll know the immigration officer and simply walk you to the front.

If I would be in said line and observe such a behaviour, I'd be really pissed.

So in schipol, you want someone to pay you 300 dollars and then awkwardly cut into one of the huge lines at immigration? Or is this for customs, where there is no line?

I have the same issues. Its incredibly pricey and lounge and fastrack access isnt guaranteed.

We're definitely working on decreasing pricing and adding features like lounges. Over the next month, for example, we're going to be working with vendors to drastically decrease pricing in China. Our goal was to launch quick to get feedback so we can start addressing the pain points.

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