
Fundraising values Skyscanner at $1.6B - edward
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1e31490a-b7a5-11e5-b151-8e15c9a029fb.html
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arghbleargh
Does anyone have any insight into how Skyscanner differentiates from the many
other flight booking websites (Kayak, Expedia, Travelocity, etc.)?

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mherdeg
In Europe, Skyscanner's big advantage is that they have price data from low-
cost carriers whose fares & inventory are not normally available to GDSes.
They'll show you prices for people like Wizz Air, EasyJet, Ryanair, etc. who
might not show up in a matrix.itasoftware.com search.

Skyscanner can also construct somewhat of surprising itineraries by piecing
together tickets on multiple separate LCCs that involve non-protected
transfers, which is something that other price search engines (Hipmunk/Kayak)
or online travel agencies (Expedia/Orbitz) don't really do. Most fare engines
won't say "hey, if you're trying to get from London to Ljubljana, how would
you feel about taking Easyjet LGW-BRU and Adria BRU-LJU?" — but Skyscanner
will.

And they have a fairly cool "I want to go from [x city] to [anywhere]" web UI
that will show you, for a given weekend, what are the cheapest
countries/cities you could visit? The UI is very good, arguably a bit better
than the Google Flights fuzzy date/trip search.

It's a great tool for exploring European fares. But I'm not sure how they make
money — there's not a lot of revenue in air bookings.

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tiatia
"involve non-protected transfers"

You may put this in bold. This means, if your plane is late/delayed and you
miss a flight, the other airline will give a f. about that and you are left
stranded. Proceed with caution!

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jsjohnst
Not entirely true. Many airlines have some kind of accommodation for same day
delays due to extenuating circumstances (aka 'flat tire on way to airport' or
'missed connection from other airline').

Furthermore, even "protected" transfers can be a hassle as many airlines treat
those without status like crap. Sure, you'll get another flight, but when and
you might be left footing the bill for the hotel for the night.

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chx
> Sure, you'll get another flight, but when and you might be left footing the
> bill for the hotel for the night.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. Which airline will not cover
hotel costs if you are missing a connection because of their fault? Is that
even legal??

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jsjohnst
Weather isn't "their" fault. With United for example, unless you are 1k
status, they won't cover hotels due to flight cancellations or delays due to
weather. They give you a scrap of paper with "discounts on hotels".
Thankfully, I am 1K, but I've seen many an irate customer in Chicago affected
by this.

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tlrobinson
"and fend off takeover offers from larger rivals"

Why does a private company need to be concerned about takeovers?

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simonswords82
Not all takeovers are positive unfortunately. One incredibly basic scenario I
can imagine playing out...

I own 1/3 of a company, with two other founders who own 1/3 each.

We're approached by a company that wants to buy us, and they offer a deal that
my co-founders jump at but I'm not so sure. I now need to "fend off" the
takeover by convincing my co-founders not to see the deal through. This is
especially troublesome given they have a majority between them. If there are
more than three shareholders or more complex company structures (such as a
company that previously raised a round of investment and has a group of
investors looking to get out) then more possibilities come in to play.

Let's then go on to assume that the (hostile) takeover isn't successful. The
buyer could seek opportunities in my marketplace to make my business less
valuable. They might purchase a competitor who was previously smaller than us
but is then provided the capacity and financial resource for growth that we do
not have.

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brainflake
Just because one person doesn't want it doesn't make it a hostile takeover. If
the board votes for it and a majority of shareholders approve (as would seem
to be the case in your example) then it's definitely not hostile.

~~~
simonswords82
Sure you can take that view, you're absolutely right that the exact definition
of a hostile takeover is one that is carried out against the wishes of the
board.

Having said that...if I'm the minority and I don't agree with the takeover
then as far as I'm concerned, it's hostile! :)

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Torn
Pretty impressive valuation for a UK company. There aren't many tech unicorns
operating here.

~~~
JamesMcMinn
Even more impressive that it's based out of Edinburgh (and Glasgow) in the UK,
rather than London. There's even fewer tech unicorns in Scotland.

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dschiptsov
$1.6B for a service similar to what flights.google.com gives for free.

No, there is no overvaluation or tech bubble.)

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smcgivern
I'm not sure if you're confused about what Skyscanner does? Skyscanner, like
flights.google.com, Kayak, etc. is free to the user - they make their money on
referral fees, among other things.

And, for that matter, flights.google.com is based on their acquisition of ITA
Software for $700M in 2010, so clearly there is a market for companies like
this: [http://www.google.com/press/ita/](http://www.google.com/press/ita/)

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dschiptsov
How many services similar to ITA were in operation back in 2010?

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tiatia
Skyscanner nerver worked so well for me. I like

vayama.com swoodoo.com [mainly EU flights, German]

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aembleton
Just tried looking for flights from Manchester to Knock on 24 June, returning
27 June. Skyscanner can find the direct flights for £64 return on Flybe.

Vayama can find the direct flight out there, but the return is via Birmingham
and Newquay all on Flybe. Altogether £157.

Swoodoo finds the Flybe flights!

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bbayer
So..Is there any chance to read article without subscribing?

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siberianbear
Press the "web" link near the top of the page on HN just under the title. That
will take you to a Google Search. Click the top search result.

FN will let you see the page because the referrer is Google.

