INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Huge travel platforms that run airline booking systems like Sabre and Amadeus were invented eons ago and are so large and cumbersome that
innovating with them is no easy feat
In the same way that challenger banks have come along to re-invent the banking software Starck, U.K
startup Duffel has done the same in the travel market, linking up airlines directly with travel agents with a 21st century platform.Today it
has announced a $30 million Series B funding round from investors Index Ventures; existing investors Benchmark Capital and Blossom Capital
Its airline partners already include American Airlines, British Airways, Lufthansa Group, Aegean Airlines, Vueling and Iberia.Duffel will
use the new funds to hire more engineers and increase its broader team
It is focusing on expanding in North America and Europe, with its first customers drawn from the U.S., U.K., Canada, France, Germany and
Spain.Duffel enables travel agencies to plug in directly to airlines’ reservation systems via an API so they can pull real-time flight
offers, make bookings, access live seat availability and buy extra services
This means new digital and mobile app-based travel agencies — Duffel’s target market — can bypass the long lead times and high costs
associated with the legacy flight booking systems
They are then able to see live seat availability from some of the world’s biggest airlines, as well as additional offers on in-flight
meals or luggage allocations.Steve Domin, co-founder and CEO of Duffel, said: “A new breed of online agencies want to access reservation
systems quickly and seamlessly
By reinventing the underwiring between online agents and airlines we can transform the world of travel booking and reduce barriers to entry
for innovative new companies that are offering travelers a whole new way of creating a holiday or trip.”In the same way that banking
systems have been opened up by deregulation, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) created a new industry standard, known as
New Distribution Capability (NDC), which transformed the way air products are retailed through the use of modern XML technology
The problem was, the legacy platforms didn’t take much interest
Duffel has obviously come along to take advantage of that.Jan Hammer, partner at Index Ventures, said: “We are incredibly impressed by the
Duffel team, who we have supported since the days of their seed funding
There is an opportunity here to transform the booking experience for travelers and ease many of the pain points in the industry
From the launch of budget airlines to sharing economy businesses like Airbnb, travel has changed and Duffel will provide the tools, built
from the ground up, that make the next wave of innovation possible.”Speaking to TechCrunch, Domin said: “Historically it’s been very
hard to sell travel products to agencies
There is too much complexity
We are bundling it all into a very simple API and two hours later you can have it running on a site or a mobile app.”“We are connecting
directly to airlines’ reservation systems
If you go on a site that uses Duffel, we will forward — to the airline — the right search request, and the airline generates the offer
in real time.”“Airlines were trying to modernize their booking systems with Amadeus and Sabre, but they have not moved quickly on
adapting to what the airlines wanted
When the IATA came up with its new XML platform, no-one wanted to use it
So we did.”Is Duffel a threat to the legacy platforms? “Potentially,” he says, “but I don’t think they see it that way
They don’t see the benefit of engineering and developer experience
In a way, I hope we will be a threat, but I don’t think we are right now.”He said Duffel has future plans to expand to other products,
