The Paywall Was a Painted Door
Manan Santoki created a free flight-search tool after discovering a $200 all-you-can-fly pass from Frontier Airlines. His project, LetsGoWild, emerged from frustrations with existing paywalled services that scraped Frontier's data. Despite facing challenges, including a ban from Reddit, the tool gained traction with users seeking affordable flight options.
- ▪Santoki's flight-search tool was inspired by his search for a cheap round trip to visit family.
- ▪He found a $200 all-you-can-fly pass from Frontier Airlines, prompting him to explore existing flight-search services.
- ▪Many of these services were paywalled, leading him to create a free alternative that gained popularity despite initial setbacks.
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try { if(localStorage) { let currentUser = localStorage.getItem('current_user'); if (currentUser) { currentUser = JSON.parse(currentUser); if (currentUser.id === 3951657) { document.getElementById('article-show-container').classList.add('current-user-is-article-author'); } } } } catch (e) { console.error(e); } Manan Santoki Posted on May 26 The Paywall Was a Painted Door #security #showdev #sideprojects #webdev How a $300 plane ticket turned into a free flight-search tool, a responsible-disclosure report, a Reddit fight, and 1,700 visitors in a month. Live: https://letsgowild.msantoki.com Not affiliated with Frontier Airlines. Built by Manan Santoki. LetsGoWild: an "Anywhere from PHX" search — 28 live options, priced route arcs, and a results rail, all in one map-first view.
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