press pack
march 2012
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
how it all began
skyscanner by numbers
well connected
why the site gets 24m visits each month
how to use skyscanner
using skyscanner on the go
timeline
experienced management team
non-executive directors
awards
press resources
contact details
how it all began
we provide our
customers with up
to date, accurate
prices
Frustrated by how difficult it was to compare
flights from different airlines, three IT
professionals had a vision for a single website
that could collect and compare prices for every
commercial flight in the world.
From a simple Excel spreadsheet, Skyscanner was
born!
It turned out that the things the team wanted
from a flight search site everyone else wanted
too, and Skyscanner became a word of mouth
success.
Thousands of people started using the site, the
founders gave up their day jobs and major VC
investment allowed Skyscanner to grow the team
at its Edinburgh HQ and expand into new
international markets.
Comparing over 1000 airlines, Skyscanner has
grown to become the leading flight comparison
site in Europe and now employs over 130 staff.
skyscanner by numbers
1 our ranking in Europe by traffic
6m mobile app downloads
29 languages in which Skyscanner is available
37 countries with over 50,000 visitors per
month
50%
of monthly sessions sourced from repeat
customers = strong loyalty
75%
revenue growth year on year
1000
airlines searched
24m
visits per month
£24m
target revenue in current financial year and
significantly profitable
75m
searches per month
$2bn
downstream flights booked in last 12 months
8bn
prices checked every month
saving millions of
people time and
money with a
comprehensive,
intelligent and
simple travel
search
experience.
well connected
direct connects with more than 240 airlines and OTA’s.
strong commercial relationships based on highly qualified referrals and
impressive
conversion rates.
unique ‘browse’ functionality lets users search for flights to everywhere,
allowing
airlines to engage with them early in the decision-making process.
enhanced airline.com position supports customer loyalty.
access to hundreds of flight price sources make us independent of centralised
data
sources such as GDS, ITA, etc.
traditional
budget
OTA’s
why the site gets 24m visits each month
we provide our
customers with up
to date, accurate
prices
search map
search
everywhere
By searching over 1,000 airlines globally and comparing both
airline and travel agents’ prices, customers are assured that they
are finding the best price. With access to direct price sources we
provide our customers with up to date, accurate prices.
Our revolutionary search technology and supremely flexible
interface allows each person to search for flights the way they
want – by city, country, date or price (see tips and tools).
search whole
month
search tips
search
country
search filters
how to use skyscanner: search tools
we provide our
customers with up
to date, accurate
prices
search map:
Use our map tool to view prices and destinations for direct and
indirect flights in each country or region.
search whole month:
Want to find the best price? If you’re flexible, use our whole month
search tool to find the cheapest days to fly!
search everywhere:
Need inspiration? Discover top deals around the world with our
everywhere search tool: there is no need to enter destination.
search country:
Search by country to find the very cheapest airports to fly
into or fly from.
search filters:
Don’t like early mornings? Not keen on long journeys?
Use our filter tools to adjust your search, allowing you to see only
the results you would consider.
using skyscanner on the go
mobile apps
Want to check flights on the
move?
android
Share trip details with friends or family by posting details to Facebook and
Twitter or email details to yourself for later.
iPhone and iPad
The iPhone and iPad apps have unique features such as an interactive
spinning globe and ‘fly to friends’ functionality which allows users to check
prices of flights to their Facebook and LinkedIn contacts. The app has now
topped the free travel app category in 47 countries.
windows phone
As well as the Skyscanner website
there are now a suite of mobile apps
that lets you search for the flights you
want, anytime, anywhere. The apps
have now been downloaded over 6m
times since launching 12 months ago.
In December, Skyscanner added a Windows Phone app to the portfolio with
an exclusive feature allowing users to ‘pin’ live prices to their home screen
with the Live Tile feature.
Zoombu
Acquisit
ion Dec
10
20
mobile
Feb 11
6m+ App
download
s Jan 12
2500
1st million
pound
revenue
month Jun
10
car-hire,
holidays,
hotels
Oct 09
international
traffic
outstrips UK
Jun 08
16
12
3000
2000
1500
SEP VC
investment Nov
07
8
4
1000
internatio
nal sites
released
Oct 04
Sessions
500
Revenue
0
0
Monthly Revenue (£'000s)
Website & Mobile Visits per Month (millions)
timeline
24
experienced management team
gareth williams
co-founder and
chief executive
Before founding Skyscanner, Gareth had
14 years of experience as a developer for
financial institutions and retail companies
bonamy grimes
co-founder and
director,
engineering
barry smith
co-founder &
director of global
data services &
mobile
derek gardner
finance director
frank skivington
sales and
marketing
director
craig parker
director of IT
rachel armitage
product director
alistair hann
chief technical
officer
ewan gray
director,
asia pacific
Before
co-founding
Skyscanner,
Bonamy spent
14 years as a
systems
architect
Barry has nine
years
experience as
a technical
architect
having worked
with FI Group,
Salomon
Smith Barney,
DLJ and M&S
Derek is a
highly
experienced
and qualified
accountant,
having worked
for NatWest
Equity
Partners,
Miller Group
and Giles
Insurance
Frank has
over 15 years
experience in
senior
commercial
roles in
media/digital
media and
was one of the
founding
directors of
Scotland's
most
successful
digital media
company, S1
Craig has
over 15 years
experience in
IT as a
technical
architect
working
across a
number of
sectors for
companies
including
Microsoft,
Capita, Logica
and M&S
An
Engineering
Science
graduate from
Oxford and
Princeton
Universities,
Rachel
worked as a
Venture
Capital
Analyst before
co-founding
travesearch
start-up
Zoombu
Alistair has a
doctorate in
Engineering
Science from
Oxford
University and
co-founded
Zoombu
Ewan Gray
has been with
Skyscanner
since 2008.
Prior to
joining
Skyscanner.
Ewan held
various
management
positions in
print and
digital media
non executive directors
ray nolan - chairman
founder and former CEO of
WRI,
parent company of
hostelworld.com booking site
jason stockwood
former managing director of
match.com. Previously of
travelocity,
lastminute.com, trailfinders,
lufthansa.
julian pancholi
managing director of nitro
ventures and chairman of
nixxie
calum
managing
paterson
partner
of VC firm SEP
our awards
press resources: what we can offer
data trends
Immediate reaction to media
requests for data and expert
comment e.g.
Turkey 159% more
popular than Greece
Searches to Egypt down
30% following political
unrest
Monthly travel trends –
top 10 most popular
poll information e.g.
infographics
spokespeople
Senior management
team including CEO
76% vote yes to
airline ‘fat tax’ says
Skyscanner
68% in favour of
family-only section
Graphs, pie charts,
maps
Country experts for
UK, France, Italy,
Spain, Russia,
Germany,
Scandinavia,
Netherlands, Turkey,
Brazil, Australia, New
Zealand and Asia
contact our
press office
the stamp office
10 waterloo place
edinburgh eh1 3eg
mary porter
sam poullain
mary@skyscanner.net
+44(0)131 252
samp@skyscanner.net
+44(0)7766 114 625
tel: +44 (0)131 252 5353
fax: +44 (0)131 252
5354
follow us @skyscanner
join us at
facebook.com/skyscanne
r