Skyscanner acquires door-to-door travel search engine Zoombu

Flight search site Skyscanner has acquired the UK-based online travel start-up Zoombu. Financial details weren’t shared.

Published: 18 Jan 2011

Flight search site Skyscanner has acquired the UK-based online travel start-up Zoombu. Financial details weren’t shared.

Zoombu started up in 2008 and was launched to users in February 2010 by founders Dr Alistair Hann and Rachel Armitage to provide multiple transport options in one search. It finds the best route for travellers’ journey by searching options, such as flights, trains, ferries, coaches, driving, car hire, and airport car parking.

Armitage and Dr Hann have moved into key roles at Skyscanner, based at the company’s Edinburgh head office.

“As travellers ourselves we recognise that there are more ways to get around than flights only,” said Gareth Williams, Skyscanner CEO. “Covering other travel options on the Skyscanner site is something we’ve wanted to do from the start, but air travel is a complex area and we wanted to get that right before expanding into other transport options. So Zoombu is an ideal fit for Skyscanner.”

Rail travel will be the first area that Skyscanner focuses on following the Zoombu acquisition. Williams added: “With increasing investment being made in rail infrastructure in Europe and worldwide, train travel is the immediate priority for us and we aim to launch this on the site in the spring.”

Zoombu stated: “The acquisition not only makes sense from a business perspective, there is an excellent cultural fit between the two companies – they are both founded on a passion to solve the problems of travel search, ultimately making it as easy as possible to get from A to B.”

Zoombu’s team has been recognised for their innovation within the travel industry and has won a string of prestigious awards including Eye for Travel’s Best Start-up in 2009.

 
 
 

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