Kiwi.com takes stake in airline technology specialist AeroCRS

Integration will make virtual interlining technology available to firm’s clients Continue reading →

Flight search firm Kiwi.com has taken an unspecified minority stake in AeroCRS and started a strategic partnership with the airline technology specialist.

The alliance will go live in the first quarter of 2019 following the deal for an undisclosed sum.

AeroCRS is backed by Cockpit Innovation, the corporate venture arm of El Al, targeting travel and aviation early-stage start-ups.

Initially, Kiwi.com will be added as a distributor to AeroCRS Network, which gives airlines using its reservation system access to Kiwi.com’s distribution network serving more than 90 million global consumer searches a day.

Kiwi.com will also make its virtual interlining technology available to AeroCRS airline clients.

The move aims to bring additional reach for these carriers, expanding their inventory by flights virtually interlined with other carriers and driving more traffic to their websites.

This integration will also add new combinations of flights to Kiwi.com’s consumer-facing proposition.

Other work between the two partners include combining Kiwi.com’s B2C expertise with AeroCRS’s B2B insights.

This will be accelerated by Kiwi.com which recently launched TEQUILA, a new platform which allows partners to access and white-label Kiwi.com’s technology.

The partnership with AeroCRS is the latest in a run of corporate announcements from Kiwi.com. It added ground transportation into its system last month, creating a bookable intermodal engine.

Meir Hadassi Turner, founder and chief executive of AeroCRS, said: “We see Kiwi.com as a strategic partner, which will benefit AeroCRS customers in many ways, B2B and B2C.

“The companies share a mutual DNA of innovation in the airline industry and we look forward to improve the passenger journey together in many ways, allowing a better door to door journey and improved coverage of routes and carriers worldwide.”

Kiwi.com co-founder and chief executive Oliver Dlouhy added: “Our investment and partnership with AeroCRS is an exciting move for Kiwi.com and reaffirms our commitment to having the best technology in place so that we can not only make the experience better for travellers but also create genuinely incremental revenues for airlines.

“AeroCRS’s deep domain knowledge of airline IT synchs perfectly with our insights into traveller behaviour and preferences. Further potential synergies will be revealed as the partnership develops, bringing benefits to travellers and airlines alike.”