Skyscanner celebrates 20th anniversary and two decades of pioneering travel search and comparison

Skyscanner CEO and co-founder sit down for exclusive fireside chat on travel technology, innovation, and the future of the company.

Skyscanner CEO, John Mangelaars said regarding on opportunities for the travel industry: “From a traveller perspective we can do much better in terms of personalisation…there are a lot of cracks in the system that we need to solve as an industry.” while former CEO and co-founder Gareth Williams commented: “New and emerging markets like the Middle East and India…new technologies like AI mean that we will have different ways of interacting with travel information and bookings.”

Speaking about new technologies such as generative AI Gareth Williams said: “Chat GPT and related AI technologies are going to have a massive impact on travel. The companies that will do well are the ones that pay attention to the quality of their data.”

Speaking about Skyscanner in the next 20 years, John Mangelaars said: “We will make more and more steps in extra products because people don’t just come to us for a flight. As a company we have an opportunity to connect [more] deeply with our partners and play a greater role in the ecosystem, so you’ll see us expanding our role and…grow our global footprint.”

Skyscanner’s flight search and comparison experience in now available in beta for travellers using Open AI’s Chat GPT plug-in services.

Powered by Skyscanner’s Travel API, the integration allows travellers to make fast and accurate flight search queries. Results are uniquely organised into ‘Fastest’, ‘Cheapest’, and ‘Best’ categories, courtesy of Skyscanner’s extensive global supply and competitive prices to ensure travellers get the best possible deals for their chosen itinerary. The beta phase will allow Skyscanner to gather feedback, engagement and conversion data to optimize and enhance the integration for the benefit of travellers.

The article Skyscanner celebrates 20th anniversary and two decades of pioneering travel search and comparison first appeared in TravelDailyNews International.