History

[edit]

The company was formed by three information technology professionals.^[1] The Edinburgh office was opened in 2004.^[2]

In 2009, the year after SEP invested in the business, Skyscanner reported its first profit.^[3]

In 2011, Skyscanner acquired Zoombu.^[4] Skyscanner opened an office in Singapore in September 2011, which is headquarters for its Asia-Pacific operations.^[5] In 2012, a Beijing office was added, as Skyscanner began a partnership with Baidu, China's largest search engine.^[6]

By 2013, the company employed over 180 people.^[7] In February 2013, Skyscanner announced plans to open a United States base in Miami.^[7] In October 2013, Sequoia Capital purchased an interest in Skyscanner that valued the company at $800 million.^[8] In June 2014, Skyscanner acquired Youbibi, a travel search engine company based in Shenzhen, China.^[9]

By February 2015, the company employed 600 people, double the employment of 18 months earlier.^[10]

In January 2016, the company raised $192 million based on a $1.6 billion valuation for the company.^[11]

In November 2016, a Chinese company Trip.com Group (formerly Ctrip) bought Skyscanner for $1.75 billion.^[12] Following the sale to Ctrip, Skyscanner's largest shareholder, SEP, completed its exit from the business.^[13]

In 2017, Ctrip bought the Trip.com domain and launched Trip.com. The original platform became a subsidiary of Skyscanner.^[14]

In 2020, after the COVID-19 pandemic, the company announced that it would lay off 300 employees (20% of its staff). It was likely to close two offices in Budapest, Hungary and Sofia, Bulgaria.^[15]

In May 2025, the company announced the appointment of Bryan Batista, its chief operations officer, as its new chief executive replacing John Mangelaars.^[16] Batista took up the role from 1 June 2025.^[16]

^ Trapp, Roger (18 February 2006). "How to launch a great business". The Independent.
^ "In pictures: inside Skyscanner's head office". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
^ "Travel firm secures major investment". BBC News. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
^ Butcher, Mike (17 January 2011). "Travel search engine Skyscanner acquires Zoombu". TechCrunch.
^ "Skyscanner to set up operation in Singapore". BBC News. 26 June 2011.
^ "Skyscanner lands China search engine deal". BBC News. 23 August 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Flight firm Skyscanner moves in to America". BBC News. 4 February 2012.
^ "Skyscanner valued at $800m by backer of Apple". The Evening Standard. 3 October 2013.
^ "Skyscanner buys Chinese metasearch firm Youbibi". BBC News. 25 June 2014.
^ Russell, Jon (23 February 2015). "Skyscanner optimistic as revenue growth slows". Financial Times.
^ Shu, Catherine (12 January 2016). "Travel Search Site Skyscanner Raises $192M For International Expansion". TechCrunch.
^ Dickie, Mure (23 November 2016). "China's Ctrip is buying flight search company SkyScanner for $1.74 billion". TechCrunch.
^ "Scottish Equity Partners exits Skyscanner following £1.4 billion sale". Growth Business. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
^ Bort, Julie (1 November 2017). "Tiny startup Trip.com has been acquired by Chinese travel giant Ctrip – a move that could shake up the travel industry". Business Insider.
^ Rafiah, Moshe (14 July 2020). "A Skyscanner update". Skyscanner.
^ ^a ^b "Skyscanner". www.skyscanner.net. Retrieved 16 May 2025.

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