The Startup Turbocharging the Airline Upsell Game at Online Travel Agencies
Photo Credit: Lufthansa Business Class as seen in 2012 on a Boeing 747-800 aircraft. The airlines of the Lufthansa Group have selected Gordian Software as its latest distribution tech partner. Lufthansa Group
Skift Take
Startups come and startups go. But it's worth looking at Gordian Software regardless. Big-name airlines have taken a sudden interest in the tech vendor, and their interest highlights a broader opportunity for them in upselling ticketed flyers.
Lufthansa Group's airlines have begun to use technology from startup Gordian Software to help power the upselling of add-ons through Priceline, Hopper, and other online travel agencies, Skift has learned. To Lufthansa's eyes, the startup is just another tech vendor among dozens. But for the Seattle-based startup, the deal is a significant win.
Gordian — which focuses on helping airlines peddle add-ons such as seating assignments and checked baggage — has recently signed a flurry of deals. It now supports more than 90 airlines, including Air France, American Airlines, British Airways, China Eastern, China Southern, Delta, Emirates, Etihad, Finnair, Ryanair, Singapore Airlines, Qantas, and United. The company helps these airlines upsell passengers typically after, but sometimes during, booking tickets on Trip.com, Kiwi.com, and about 200 other travel agencies and resellers.
"We now have an annualized revenue run rate of $70 million, which is 14 times what it was at the start of
