Barodawala sees potential for the technology to be even more useful to passengers as it continues to evolve. "If someone is going to New York to Los Angeles via Chicago," he said, "and it's the New York-to-Chicago route that's oversold, why not offer the passenger a direct ticket from New York to Los Angeles?" You'd nix their connection, he said, and open up a highly valuable seat. The same goes for passengers at risk of missing a connection due to disruptions: "The airline could offer your seat to someone whose priority is getting there faster, and you could take their seat on a later flight that you'll actually make." He envisioned a clean swap: no fees, no empty seats, no frantic rebookings, and happy customers all around.