# How to Vibe Code Your Own AirHelp (and Stop Paying for It) > Air Passenger Rights Experts - Site: https://airhelp.com - Category: Consumer LegalTech / Travel - Platforms: Web app, iOS app, Android app - Verdict: **Serious undertaking** (45/100 vibecodeable) - Estimated effort: 3-4 months of part-time work ## Verdict You can build a functional personal prototype of the claim calculator and tracking dashboard, but AirHelp's true value relies on an enterprise legal network and proprietary aviation data. While a solo developer can spin up a Next.js frontend with claim forms and a SQLite database in a couple of weeks, you hit a concrete wall when trying to replicate the core engine: verifying flight disruption causes against historical air traffic control data, parsing chaotic boarding pass PDFs with high reliability, and managing cross-border legal escalation workflows against uncooperative international airlines. ### What you can't replicate - Global network of aviation legal partners and court escalation infrastructure - Proprietary historical flight delay and weather verification pipelines - 140+ enterprise airline and OTA distribution partnerships ## What it does Tech-enabled legal services and consumer-advocacy platform that helps air passengers secure financial compensation for delayed, canceled, or overbooked flights under global regulations. ### Core features - Free flight compensation calculator based on EC 261, UK 261, and Montreal Convention - Flight status lookup and schedule verification engine - User authentication and profile management - Document upload pipeline for boarding passes and booking confirmations - Claim submission and status tracking dashboard - Multi-jurisdiction legal case workflow management queue - Subscription tier management for AirHelp+ trip protection ## The business ### Pricing - Standard Claim: No Win, No Fee (35% fee) — Deducted directly from recovered compensation if successful. - AirHelp+ Smart: €39.99 / year — Covers up to 3 registered trips annually. ### Funding $17.2M raised. - Seed (2014, including Y Combinator) - Series A ($12M in August 2016 led by Khosla Ventures) - Private Equity minority investment (March 2025 by Abry Partners, valued ~$450M) Investors: Y Combinator, Khosla Ventures, Nordic Eye, TempoCap, Abry Partners Founded 2013. Team size: 390+. ## The hard parts - Real-time and historical flight tracking data ingestion to legally prove airline-fault delays versus extraordinary weather circumstances - Multi-country legal compliance engine managing distinct statutory deadlines and regional aviation regulations - High-volume OCR document parsing for chaotic, poorly formatted user boarding passes - B2B airline and OTA manifest integrations ensuring strict aviation data privacy standards ## How to vibe code AirHelp ### Prerequisites - Node.js (free): Runtime environment for the Next.js stack - GitHub (free): Code repository and deployment linkage ### Recommended AI tools - Claude Code: End-to-end multi-file agentic coding and scaffolding for the full-stack app - Cursor: Iterative UI component design and inline debugging ### Stack - Frontend: Next.js with Tailwind CSS and TypeScript - Backend: Next.js Server Actions and API Routes - Database: Turso (SQLite at the edge) - Auth: better-auth - Payments: Stripe - Other: Resend for email notifications, OpenAI API for boarding pass OCR parsing ### Hosting - Cloudflare (Edge frontend and serverless API deployment via Pages): $0-5/mo ### Build guide 1. **Project Scaffolding & Database Schema** — Initialize a Next.js 16 project with TypeScript and Tailwind CSS 4, configure Turso SQLite connection, and define database schemas for users, flights, claims, and subscriptions. ``` Initialize a new Next.js project with App Router, TypeScript, and Tailwind CSS. Configure Turso as the database client using libSQL. Create database migration scripts for the following tables: 'users' (id, email, password_hash, created_at), 'claims' (id, user_id, flight_number, departure_date, airline, status, compensation_amount, created_at), and 'subscriptions' (id, user_id, tier, status, expires_at). Implement a robust database connection utility with environment variable validation. ``` 2. **Authentication & User Dashboard** — Set up secure user authentication using better-auth and build a personal dashboard to view submitted claims and membership status. ``` Integrate better-auth into the Next.js app supporting email/password and session management. Create sign-in, sign-up, and account settings pages. Build a protected user dashboard displaying active claims, claim history status badges, and AirHelp+ subscription details with responsive Tailwind UI components. ``` 3. **Compensation Eligibility Calculator** — Build an interactive multi-step compensation calculator checking flight distance, delay duration, and regulatory frameworks (EC 261, UK 261). ``` Build a multi-step flight compensation calculator form component. Step 1: Departure and arrival airports. Step 2: Flight number and date. Step 3: Delay duration or cancellation reason. Implement a calculation logic module in TypeScript that evaluates EC 261 distance tiers (under 1500km = €250, 1500-3500km = €400, over 3500km = €600) and displays estimated compensation payout results. ``` 4. **Document Parsing Pipeline (OCR)** — Implement file upload and OCR extraction for boarding passes and booking confirmations using OpenAI Vision API. ``` Create a secure document upload endpoint supporting PDF and image uploads for boarding passes and confirmation emails. Use OpenAI API (vision model) to parse uploaded files and extract structured JSON data: flight number, passenger name, PNR reference, departure airport, arrival airport, and date. Pre-fill the claim submission form with extracted data and store file references securely. ``` 5. **Claim Submission & Management Workflow** — Build the end-to-end claim submission workflow, status tracking timeline, and administrative case review queue. ``` Build a claim submission wizard that links the calculated compensation, uploaded documents, and user profile into a new claim record in the Turso database. Create a detailed claim status tracking timeline view for users (Submitted -> Verified -> Airline Contacted -> Payout). Add a basic admin dashboard view to update claim statuses and review uploaded evidence. ``` 6. **AirHelp+ Memberships & Stripe Billing** — Integrate Stripe checkout to handle annual AirHelp+ Smart subscription tiers and fee waiver status updates. ``` Integrate Stripe SDK to handle annual subscription checkouts for AirHelp+ Smart (€39.99/yr). Implement Stripe webhooks to listen for checkout.session.completed events, updating the user's subscription status and activating fee waivers on active claims in the database. Add a subscription management card to the user settings page. ``` ### Cost vs paying **Starting costs (one-time):** - Custom domain registration: $12 one-time - AI coding tool subscription: $20 one-time - Total: ~$32 one-time **Ongoing costs (monthly):** - Cloudflare Pages & Turso DB: $0/mo (free tier) - OpenAI OCR API usage: ~$5/mo - Resend transactional email: $0/mo (free tier) - Total: ~$5/mo - Paying for the SaaS instead: Free per-claim (35% cut) / €39.99/yr membership - Build time: 60 hours - AI tool credits: $20 (Claude Pro) - Break-even: Not applicable (personal prototype build) ## Sources - [AirHelp Official Website](https://www.airhelp.com/) - [AirHelp About Us & Company Background](https://www.airhelp.com/en-int/about-us/)