Exploring Life & Business with Alex Malebranche of PlaneAhead

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Malebranche. 

Hi Alex, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I previously served more than 6 years in the military and after traveling the world, my wife and daughter settled in Denver to continue to grow as a family. This year, while I was on parental leave with my second daughter, I was making a change to a flight I had and saved over $500. I thought to myself if I just did this and saved my family that much there has to be a company out there that does this. To my surprise, there wasn’t! So, I built it myself! Now, it’s a dream come true to be able to work on something that I enjoy while hopefully creating a legacy and a better life for my wife and girls. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely has been tough. To start, I began a travel company in the middle of a global pandemic! It has been tough to keep up with the changing rules, get new customers because of what’s going on, sell the idea to investors because of the uncertainty around travel. I think that is starting to change as things open up more, but it’s also tough to have a company that is the first of its kind. It takes a lot of time and money to educate consumers on who we are and why we’re different. 

As you know, we’re big fans of PlaneAhead. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
PlaneAhead is the first company of its kind, that takes full advantage of the termination of airline change fees. We track your purchased itinerary from the day you buy until take off. When the price of your ticket goes down, we automatically exchange the ticket and send you the airline credit from the change. We have gotten customers over $800 in credits back in one flight alone. 

What’s different is that companies have all built their value around helping you make the buying decision but once you buy the tickets, they do nothing for you. We continue to provide value past your purchase. We watch your back and work on your behalf every day. We’re not a company where you just set an alert and we let you know what to do next. We don’t send you dozens of emails about deals and tell you to buy and buy quickly! We don’t tell you to act. We let you know when we’ve acted. We collect credits for you so that you can keep traveling without you having to do anything. 

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
If you’re just starting out, you’ve already done the toughest thing. Starting. I’ve wanted to have my own business for my whole laugh and it’s taken me almost 30 years to drum up the courage and belief in myself to do it. So, if you’ve started, you’re crushing it! If you haven’t yet, this is the day you start. Don’t list the reasons why you can’t do it. Why the timing isn’t right. I started this company with 2 small kids, a wife that wasn’t working, in the middle of a global pandemic where no one is traveling and I started it by myself. You can do it, whatever it is. 

Pricing:

• $99/year

Contact Info:

• Email: team@planeahead.co
• Website: https://planeahead.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/planeahead/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/planeaheadofficial
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlaneAhead