Czech Website Creates Itineraries From Low-Cost and Legacy Carriers

Chances are the average reader hasn't been closely following Central Europe's travel startup scene. If that describes you, then you've missed the interesting story of Kiwi.com, an online travel agency in the Czech Republic that forecasts that its gross transaction value this year will be about $700 million, with net revenue of between $100 and $110 million. Next year, the Brno-based company will double those numbers, according to co-founder and CEO Oliver Dlouhy. But it remains to be seen if that kind of boast would become reality. Kiwi is already profitable, Dlouhy said in an interview. It has scaled up to 1,400 employees — about 300 of whom are developers. This company has served about 1.3 million customers since its founding in 2012. The startup has raised $1.5 million in funding. New Flight Search Sweet Spot Kiwi has found a niche as an online travel agency in a crowded market by making it easy to combine flight segments from about 200 low-cost carriers with flights on traditional airlines. So-called virtual interlining works like this: Imagine piecing together a round-trip by booking tickets on various airline websites. You might be flying first on Ryanair, then easyJet to your destination, followed by Wizz Air, and finally easyJet again for the legs back home. When no direct flights exist between small cities, virtual interlining can be valuabl