Ever since Google surprised many and named flight search technology startup Everbread as part of the infamous travel ecosystem, the company has attracted lots of attention.
Thrust perhaps a bit too early into the limelight, as some surmised, Everbread has come under some pressure from sceptics to start pushing forward and claiming some clients.
Even last week, Kayak marketing director Robert Birge, during an interview about the anti Google-ITA Software coalition, FairSearch, highlighted how Everbread and rival Vayant (a late addition to ecosystem chart) were lacking in clients and without a mature product.
So, with remarkable timing, Everbread this week unveiled three clients for its core search technology, Haystack.
South Africa-based online travel agency TravelStart (run by Tnooz Node Stephan Ekbergh), wholesaler AerTickets and Lute Technologies follow other agreements earlier this year with Radixx and Ypsilon, plus a pilot with Cheapflights.
Vice president for strategy and business development, Assen Vassilev, says the Haystack system will effectively replace the GDS for search and shopping tools within the three new clients, although booking will still take place in the GDS for supported carriers, directly with low cost carriers or on Farelogix with the Lute product.
He adds:
"We allow AER, Travelstart and Lute to shop in an intergrated way across all their data sources and to present customers with cheaper, better and more relevant results.
"We also give them the ability to choose where and how they place each individual booking transaction, so that they can have more freedom in their choice of GDS and/or direct connects."
Everbread has spent much of the summer attempting to spread the word about its technology, with a number of other, bigger deals said to be in the offing in the coming months.
Central to the Haystack system is the ability to have mid-point split-tickets and virtual interlines and shopping in multiple agency locations through a single search, Vassilev says. Haystack can also shop across multiple fare data providers such as LCCs, Radixx, and ATPCO.
Despite the announcement of a number of new clients, Everbread still has plenty of work to do convince those wondering how a startup (albeit with a high profile backer) from Europe can capture the attention of Google and others so quickly.
But, as many suspect, the ecosystem chart says a lot about where the industry is heading...
NB: Disclosure - Lute chief technology officer is Tnooz Node Timothy O'Neil-Dunne.