Today marks the day that we move from a private VC-funded company to one that is the strategic partner of Ctrip, one of the most successful online travel companies in the world.
This is a milestone, but like real milestones, it is at the side of the road and is not the road itself. I am looking forward to working with Ctrip to do all we can to solve the problem of organising travel – a problem which is far from resolved and one which continues to drive me personally as well as everything we strive to do at Skyscanner.
Travel needs to be tailored to how we interact and it needs to be mobile. We believe that an authentically mobile experience for travellers of every country in the world is a fine ambition and one we are not close to finishing yet.
Skyscanner will remain operationally independent in creating the pre-eminent global marketplace for travel. We look forward to not only serving ever-more travellers, but also in bringing true value and economies of scale to airlines, hotels and other travel suppliers – companies that sometimes suspect they are not the main beneficiaries of the internet economy, often with great reason. This is why we are committed to operating as a genuine two-sided marketplace where we can connect travellers around the world with the travel services industry and serve both communities effectively.
There will be further milestones and moments in the future to reflect upon, but the work to be done lies largely ahead of us. I am fortunate to have such great co-founders (Bonamy Grimes and Barry Smith) and such great colleagues. If we focus on travellers and travel suppliers, we will have a great future ahead of us, together.
Skyscanner has a huge opportunity to make a many-times-greater difference to the travellers who use us and the suppliers that deliver those travel services.
I’m very much looking forward to doing so.
Gareth Williams
CEO and co-founder
Read more about the acquisition here, see the press release here and watch Gareth discussing the news below.
