New travel app CityHook aims to take the pain out of airport transfers

12 Sep 2012

CityHook co-founders Tommaso Solesin and Kevin O'Shaughnessy, pictured at NovaUCD

A new travel app by the name of CityHook is now available for iPhone and Android users, with the aim of helping voyagers pinpoint the best transport connections between European airports and their nearest cities.

The free app works for around 130 European airports and their nearby city centre locations, covering aspects such as journey times, cost and drop-off locations.

The duo behind CityHook is Kevin O’Shaughnessy and Tommaso Solesin, who met while working on their master’s degrees at UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.

Solesin and O’Shaughnessy have now based themselves at NovaUCD to work on the start-up.

“Tommaso and I both love to travel and had realised that every time we landed at a new airport, we were at a loss as to what was the best option to travel into the city centre,” said O’Shaughnessy.

The app is targeted at those who are travelling within Europe and those who are visiting Europe for the first time, according to O’Shaughnessy.

“Within those 130 airports there might be multiple connections. Right now we have 350 airport and city connections and we’re working on building that number up,” he said.

As for travel options between cities, O’Shaughnessy said that CityHook is aiming to account for different types of traveller, be it a backpacker or a businessperson, so they can choose between different options such as rail, taxi or bus.

And while CityHook has honed in on Europe for its launch phase, O’Shaughnessy said the team has started on its US plan and is hoping to announce something before Christmas.

He said that part of the CityHook service can also be delivered without the user having to connect to the internet, as some basic information has been pre-loaded onto the app.

Another additional feature, according to O’Shaughnessy, will be a facility for users to suggest connections between two destinations.

For iPhone users, CityHook is available from the App Store, while for Android devices it is available via Google Play.

Carmel Doyle was a long-time reporter with Silicon Republic

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