User:WmLawson/Rick Seaney

Rick Seaney is CEO and co-founder of FareCompare L.P. and a noted authority on airline travel and ticket prices. He has also authors a weekly column on travel issues for ABCNews.

Seaney holds a degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from Stephen F. Austin State University. During the 1980s, Seaney was employed by Mobil Oil Corporation while still attending college, and became a consultant with them after graduating. While working for them, he became involved with the processing and mining of large volumes of oil and gas exploration data. Seaney has been CEO of XXI Technologies which he founded in 1999, a firm which performed technical consulting.

Quoted or interviewed in articles and news reports at USAToday, CNN, NBC, NPR, Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, Forbes Magazine, Reuters News, Bloomberg, The Associated Press and The New York Times. He has spoken at O'Reilly Media's Money:Tech Conference, PhoCusWright, and at airline industry conferences. Seaney was interviewed on ABC News 20/20 to dispel air ticket purchase myths, such as how first class tickets are not always exhorbitant or more than coach class, and when to time flights for lowest costs.

Seaney occasionally attracts the ire of airline officials, irritated that he and his company frequently reveal pricing secrets generated by the arcane algorithms that dictate flight ticket prices. Seaney has also become something of a de facto consumer advocate for travellors, using his industry recognition to criticize unfair policies and speak frankly of his own travel experiences.