Startup Stage: AirviaTech wants to simplify flight ticket sales

AirviaTech

Founded this year, Istanbul-based AirviaTech offers a flight ticketing solution for travel agencies and tour operators.

The startup uses one API to unify New Distribution Capability (NDC), global distribution systems (GDSs), low-cost carriers (LCCs) and direct airline connections.

What is your 30-second pitch to investors?

AirviaTech is an IATA-certified NDC aggregator and a next-generation global airline distribution technology company. Through a single API, we unify NDC, GDS, LCC and direct airline connections, delivering comprehensive flight content to travel agencies worldwide.

With more than 20 years of experience in aviation and distribution technologies, our team simplifies complex integrations, accelerates airline retailing transformation and enables agencies to operate more profitably and competitively.

AirviaTech is rapidly emerging as a new independent global “One API airline content aggregator” originating from Turkey.

Describe both the business and technology aspects of your startup.

Business: AirviaTech serves as an independent technology bridge between airlines and travel sellers.

Our offering includes:

• One API flight content aggregation
• Infrastructure for corporate travel platforms
• Charter and block-seat distribution
• Airline integration and certification services
• Strategic travel technology consultancy

We operate purely as a neutral technology provider—no commissions from agency sales. Revenue is generated through usage-based fees, integration fees and SaaS-based models.

Technology: AirviaTech is built on a modern, cloud-native, scalable architecture:

• 70+ airline integrations (NDC, GDS/EDIFACT, LCC, XML)
• Dynamic pricing and fare intelligence modules
• Cache-less real-time offer and availability retrieval
• PCI DSS-compliant infrastructure
• High-speed microservices and DevOps architecture
• Rapid customer onboarding and flexible API design

Our long-term vision is to evolve into an AI-driven airline offer management and corporate travel infrastructure provider.

Give us your SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of the company.

Strengths

• IATA-certified NDC aggregator
• 20+ years of aviation and distribution expertise
• Unified multi-source one API architecture
• Fast implementation and cost-efficient operations
• Strong technical relationships with major airlines
• Real expertise from working directly with agencies and operators
• Competitive cost and development speed as a Turkey-based tech company

Weaknesses

• New global brand still building international awareness
• Smaller team compared to major global competitors (but highly experienced)
• Need for rapid scaling of engineering and support teams

Opportunities

• Accelerating global NDC transformation
• Airlines seeking GDS cost reduction through aggregators
• Expansion into MENA, Europe and Asia
• Growing demand for corporate travel APIs
• Digitalization opportunities in charter and block-seat distribution

Threats

• Large global competitors with significant marketing budgets
• Frequent changes in airline distribution strategies
• Regulatory and certification complexities

What are the travel pain points you are trying to alleviate from both the customer and the industry perspectives?

For agencies:

• Access to all flight content through a single API
• Real-time comparison of multi-source fares
• Eliminating high integration and maintenance costs
• Simplifying NDC migration and reducing complexity
• Digitalizing non-GDS charter and block-seat content

For airlines:

• Increasing NDC adoption speed
• Reducing GDS dependency and distribution costs
• Expanding global indirect sales channels with control
• Outsourcing API testing and certification through AirviaTech

Now that the product is built, what's your strategy for customer acquisition?

• Strengthening our leading position in Turkey with major clients 
• Partnering with international agency networks and consolidators
• Co-marketing programs with airlines
• Providing infrastructure to corporate travel software providers
• Increasing visibility in global API marketplaces and industry directories
• Actively participating in global events such as ITBBerlin, ATM Dubai, WTM London, Uzakrota, aviation summits and travel tech expos

Tell us what process you've gone through to establish a genuine need for your company and the size of the addressable market.

We validated market demand through:

• Direct consultations with airline NDC and distribution teams
• Analysis of agencies’ strong motivation to adopt aggregators for cost, speed and price advantages
• High flight transaction volumes in Turkey and surrounding regions
• Global NDC market growth forecasts (25%+ annually through 2028)
• Demand from corporate travel platforms seeking robust flight technology partners
• Agencies preferring one unified API rather than integrating separately with multiple airlines

Conclusion: The need is real, the market is large and the timing is ideal due to industry-wide transformation.

How and when will you make money?

Our revenue model includes:

• API usage fees (SaaS)
• Transaction-based pricing
• Integration and setup fees
• Charter and block-seat revenue sharing
• Licensing for corporate travel platforms

AirviaTech became revenue-generating from inception and is now expanding revenue streams into international markets.

What are the backgrounds and previous achievements of the founding team?

Founder: Serkan Selen

• 20+ years of experience in aviation and travel technologies
• Architect of several major flight distribution systems in Turkey

Team:

• Senior software engineers
• Airline NDC specialists
• Cloud and security experts (AWS, PCI DSS)

AirviaTech is built by one of the most experienced flight-technology teams in Turkey.

How have you addressed diversity and inclusion within your business?

• Team members from multiple regions and backgrounds
• Inclusion of female engineers and project managers
• Internship and mentorship programs for university aviation/tech students
• Equal opportunity hiring policy
• A culture that prioritizes collaboration and open innovation

AirviaTech believes that diverse perspectives lead to stronger, more innovative products.

What has been the most difficult part of founding the business so far?

The most challenging aspects have been:

• Establishing global trust as a new brand from Turkey
• Managing simultaneous integrations and certifications with multiple airlines
• Scaling engineering and support operations to match high growth demand

These challenges, however, strengthened our resilience and accelerated our maturity as a travel-tech provider.

Generally, travel startups face a fairly tough time making an impact. Why are you going to be one of the lucky ones?

• We are not an inexperienced team—we are experts who built the industry from inside.
• Our product solves real operational problems identified over two decades.
• We operate at the center of the NDC transformation, not on its periphery.
• Our service is actively requested by both agencies and airlines.
• We run a highly sustainable B2B model with predictable recurring revenue.
• Turkey-based development gives us both speed and cost advantages.

AirviaTech’s strength is offering the right solution at the right moment of industry evolution.

A year from now, what state do you think your startup will be in?

• 150+ connected travel agencies worldwide
• 100+ airline integrations live
• Launch of our corporate travel platform internationally
• Regional expansion with representatives in MENA and Europe
• Deployment of our AI-driven airline offer management module
• 3-4x growth in annual transaction volume

What is your endgame? (Going public, acquisition, growing and staying private, etc.)

Our long-term ambition is to:

• Become a globally recognized flight-technology provider
• Position AirviaTech among the world’s leading independent NDC aggregators
• Grow through strategic partnerships with airlines and enterprise clients
• Potentially pursue an IPO or strategic acquisition in the future

But above all, our vision is clear: to build a global travel-technology leader originating from Turkey.