Fly.com Buyers Reluctantly Identified as Owners of Airfare Wholesaler Mondee
Skift Take
Mondee, a travel technology company in California, paid $2.89 million for the Fly.com domain name, according to our sources. But the story behind this secretive company is also a broader tale about private equity, ethnic travel, and how airlines distribute their lowest-priced tickets.
In March, Travelzoo sold Fly.com, the Internet domain name it had used for a travel price-comparison search engine that had failed. But Travelzoo didn't disclose the buyer's name.
Skift has learned exclusively that the buyers are the owners of Mondee, a travel technology company headquartered in Forest City, California that is an airfare consolidator, the largest in North America.
Travel deals publisher Travelzoo received $2.89 million in cash for the domain, according to financial filings.
The new owner is Fly Holdings, which updated Fly.com's privacy policy. Since then, Mondee posted a job advertisement for a chief marketing officer for Fly.com. The chief marketing officer would build a marketing team, refine a brand message and develop strategic partnerships for Fly.com.
When we contacted Mondee, a spokesperson said the Mondee operation did not own the domain name and that the want ad was a mistake. The company then removed the job posting from its site.
The spokesp
