FlightGlobal, a data services and media brand owned by Reed Business Information, has acquired FlightStats, an airline data services firm, and Diio, a provider of airline market intelligence tools.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. FlightGlobal offers fleet, aircraft finance, and schedule data services. In 2014, it acquired Innovata, an Atlanta consultancy that specializes in travel-planning solutions.
The move brings consolidation to the live flight-tracking sector. FlightStats, based in Portland, Ore., had been a pioneer in providing real-time global flight data, releasing its first flight status API in 2005.
But on the consumer side, it has recently been overtaken in popularity by FlightAware and FlightRadar24 -- two companies that have been battling for share. FlightGlobal's resources could restore FlightStats' competitiveness as a consumer brand.
FlightGlobal's interest in FlightStats appears to be mainly on the business-to-business side. It has already begun to integrate FlightStats into its business intelligence (BI) services, such as for helping clients better cope with flight disruptions.
Diio, based near Washington DC, has provided aviation market intelligence services for about 16 years. It offers BI tools for the transportation and travel industries, including the top 16 carriers in North America and half of the largest 100 airports in the US. Its signature BI tool is Diio Mi, used by more than 3,500 clients to run reports based on schedules, fares, and traffic data to help with route and network planning decisions.
In a statement, the company noted that Diio "powers such products as IATA PaxIS, ARC DataXpert Market Intelligence, and IATA/ARC Direct Data Solutions (DDS). Diio also hosts the SRS Analyser schedules analysis tool, developed for international markets in co-operation with FlightGlobal and IATA."
With the latest acquisitions, FlightGlobal expands its depth of coverage in consultancy services as well as analytic services. One goal appears to be to stand out more clearly as a travel specialist, to better compete against technology generalists that also want to serve the airline industry.
The acquisition also consolidates the number of companies that provide data to airline decision-makers to inform decision-making.
NB: Flight schedule image from BigStock.com