Tel Aviv-based FairFly leverages airfare volatility to maximize savings on corporate travel.
Founded in late 2014 and backed by the co-founder of crowd-sourced mapping platform Waze (now owned by Google), the startup can deliver savings of up to 4% on corporations’ annual air spend when comparing only identical flights.
Broaden the search to similar options and savings can double. In more concrete terms, the startup claims to deliver savings on one in four tickets tracked and potential savings average $254.
CEO Aviel Siman-Tov says:
“Airfare is typically the second largest expense for companies, so FairFly is a place where savings can make a huge difference to their overall annual revenue.“In the US alone, it’s estimated that TMC’s leave $19 billion on the table due to lack of time and resources to track potential savings on business airfare.”
He adds that the price for the same flight changes 92 times on average, but companies simply lack the tools and resources to identify savings opportunities.
Taking into account corporate travel policies, private fares and applicable airfare penalties, FairFly’s technology is based on proprietary algorithms and machine learning that track fares for identical, similar or better itineraries after a booking has occurred. Real-time notifications are sent via text, email or GDS queue once savings are identified and rebooking process causes no disruption to the traveler.
As clients only pay upon identified and consumed savings, Siman-Tov calls the service “risk free.”
Since its launch in 2016 (Startup pitch here), FairFly has expanded its global service from a single GDS to three GDS platforms: Sabre; Travelport and Amadeus. FairFly integrated its tracking tools with Amadeus earlier this year, thus bolstering the startup’s presence in Europe.
Backed by Blumberg Capital and Emery Capital, the company also counts major international corporations –including several Fortune 15 companies—among its clientele and has expanded its TMC partnerships network to include global corporate travel management company BCD Travel among others. Other clients run the gamut, from banking firms to tech and construction companies in Asia, the UK and the US.
The startup’s success is due, at least in part, to the evolution of its product as well as the fact that FairFly only charges when savings actually occur and those are identified based on a company’s specific travel policy and market preferences.
While FairFly initially focused on fare tracking, it has since added the ability to provide corporate travel managers with actionable data and transparency through greater analysis of every flight across multiple GDS platforms.
Siman-Tov says that going forward, FairFly’s priority will be to expand its business through its product line, partnerships and technological advances as well as greater transparency to corporate clients so they can view their savings more precisely.
As part of the company's big data solutions for airfares, it can now provide services such as pricing trend analysis. From a partnership perspective, it says it wants to target "innovative and forward-thinking companies with a global footprint."
And when it comes to technological advances, Fairfly continues to focus on leveraging data to provide insight which it believes have been out of reach for travel buyers up to now. To do this, the startup has improved customization features as well as search capabilities. Its technology can no customize search by specific traveler, based on preferences as well reason for travel. Siman-Tov says:
“Our goal is to make sure corporate clients not only see huge savings when they use FairFly, but they also understand how they’re saving money."