Aviasales

What Aviasales does

Aviasales is a flight metasearch engine founded in 2007 that compares airfares across hundreds of airlines and online travel agencies (OTAs), serving 18+ million monthly users primarily across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and CIS markets. The core platform — accessible via aviasales.com and native iOS/Android apps — aggregates flight options, applies user-defined filters (layovers, times, baggage, price), and redirects users to partner airlines or OTAs to complete bookings. The service is free to consumers with no markup on displayed prices, and the company monetizes primarily through affiliate commissions averaging 1.1-1.3% of ticket value. Travelpayouts, a wholly-owned subsidiary, operates an affiliate network with 600K+ webmasters and 90+ partner programs globally, distributing traffic and paying out 40% revenue share to partners.

The product portfolio has expanded beyond flight metasearch to include hotels (via Booking.com integration), Aviasales More (a subscription offering cashback, exclusive content, and premium support), Aviasales for Business (B2B corporate travel management at B2C-level pricing), Aviastats (a business intelligence service for travel industry data), and "In a Nutshell" (curated travel maps for 100 cities built with local experts). Underlying technology centers on a metasearch engine with proprietary search, filtering, and partner integration infrastructure, supplemented by mobile apps with price drop notifications. The platform supports an API and White Label program enabling partners to embed Aviasales functionality.

Commercially, Aviasales runs a dual go-to-market: product-led growth for consumers driven by organic SEO, content marketing, social channels (Instagram, TikTok, Telegram, Threads), and the Travelpayouts distribution network; and sales-led motion for the Aviasales for Business corporate offering. The legal entity is Giant Travel Unicorn Two Limited, a Hong Kong corporation, with operational offices in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tbilisi, and Phuket under a permanent remote-first policy adopted in 2020. The company has raised approximately $53M total across a 2014 round from iTech Capital and a 2021 $43M round co-led by Elbrus Capital Funds and iTech Capital, and reports over $1.6B in gross merchandise sales volume.

Name

Aviasales

Legal name

Giant Travel Unicorn Two Limited

Website

https://aviasales.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Aviasales is a flight metasearch engine comparing airfares across hundreds of airlines and OTAs for 18+ million monthly users in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and CIS. Revenue comes from affiliate commissions and the Travelpayouts network with 600K+ webmasters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Travel Metasearch

NAICS

Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (51929)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Flights Metasearch & Airfare Comparison (THALAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Metasearch & Fare/Rate Comparison Engines (THAKAAAD), Enterprise OBTs (Complex Policy, Multi-Entity, Global) (THACABAC)

Keywords

• Flight metasearch
• Travel search engine
• Airfare comparison
• Corporate travel management
• Travel affiliate network

Headquarters

HQ city

Phuket

HQ country

Thailand

HQ region

Asia

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Affiliate/Referral Revenue: Aviasales earns commissions when users are redirected to partner airlines and agencies and complete bookings. The company operates the Travelpayouts affiliate network with 40% revenue share for partners. Average commission per ticket is 1.1-1.3% of ticket value.
2. Advertising: The company displays third-party advertisements and earns revenue from ad displays on the platform.
3. Travelpayouts Affiliate Network: The company operates Travelpayouts, an affiliate network with 600K+ webmasters promoting travel services globally. Revenue comes from affiliate commissions on bookings made through partner referrals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Aviasales is a flight and travel metasearch engine that compares prices and availability across hundreds of airlines and online travel agencies, then redirects users to partner sites to complete bookings. The platform is free for consumers, monetizes through affiliate commissions, advertising, and the Aviasales More subscription, and extends distribution through the Travelpayouts affiliate network and an Aviasales for Business corporate travel product.

Product overview

Aviasales operates as a travel metasearch platform comprising multiple interconnected products: the core flight search engine (aviasales.com) enables users to compare and book flights by redirecting to partner airlines and agencies; the hotel search service extends this to accommodation booking via Booking.com integration; Aviasales More is a subscription service adding cashback, exclusive travel content, and premium support; Aviasales for Business (B2B) provides corporate travel management with B2C-level pricing for companies; Aviastats offers business intelligence and analytics for industry insights; In a Nutshell provides travel guides for 100+ cities with local expert insights; and the Travelpayouts affiliate network enables partners to monetize travel traffic through APIs and White Label tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Aviasales (Core Flight Metasearch Platform) Flight metasearch engine that compares ticket prices and availability across hundreds of airlines and online travel agencies, applies user filters, and redirects to partner sites for booking. Free for consumers; revenue is generated via affiliate commissions on redirected bookings and advertising.
• Aviasales Hotels Hotel search and booking service integrated with Booking.com, allowing travelers to search and reserve accommodation alongside flight search within the Aviasales platform.
• Aviasales More Monthly premium subscription offering cashback on travel services booked through Aviasales, exclusive travel content, and premium customer support for frequent travelers.
• Aviasales for Business Corporate travel management platform that lets companies compare airfares across multiple providers at consumer-level pricing, alongside hotels, rail tickets, transfers, and additional business travel services.
• Aviastats Business intelligence service that provides data and analytics on travel industry trends, enabling informed decision-making for partners, OTAs, and other industry stakeholders.
• In a Nutshell Travel Map Digital travel map product covering 100 cities worldwide, created with local travel experts to give travelers a fast, visual overview of destinations.
• Travelpayouts Affiliate Network Affiliate network platform that enables bloggers, website owners, and partners to monetize travel traffic using Aviasales APIs, white-label solutions, widgets, search forms, banners, and branded URLs, with 40% revenue share and a 30-day attribution window.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $1.6 billion in gross merchandise sales volume in 2021
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• TravelpayoutscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerTravelpayouts is the affiliate network operated by Aviasales, connecting 600K+ webmasters with travel offers. The network spans Russia, Europe, US, India, Arab countries, and CIS nations, with 90+ partner programs. Webmasters earn 40% revenue share on bookings made through their referrals.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Skyscanner: Skyscanner is a global flight and travel metasearch engine that aggregates airfare, hotel, and car rental options and redirects users to providers. It is the closest direct competitor to Aviasales' core metasearch model, though Aviasales is more concentrated in Eastern Europe/CIS whereas Skyscanner is more globally diversified.
• Kayak: Kayak operates a travel metasearch platform comparing flights, hotels, and cars across suppliers. It is one of Aviasales' most direct global competitors with similar redirect-based monetization and price comparison functionality.
• Momondo: Momondo is a flight and travel metasearch engine owned by Booking Holdings. It directly competes with Aviasales on flight price comparison and aggregation across airlines and OTAs, with broader geographic coverage in Western markets.
• Jetradar (Aviasales brand): Jetradar is an Aviasales-operated international flight metasearch brand targeting non-Russian markets. It is essentially the international-facing version of the same Aviasales platform, representing the company's own geographic expansion vehicle.

Broad incumbents

• Google Flights: Google Flights is a flight search and metasearch product embedded within Google's ecosystem, offering deep integration with Google Search. As the dominant player in flight search globally, it represents the most significant competitive threat to Aviasales' SEO-driven metasearch model.
• Trip.com: Trip.com Group (formerly Ctrip, owner of Skyscanner and Trip.com) is a leading global online travel agency offering flights, hotels, and packages. It competes with Aviasales across flight distribution in Asia and through Skyscanner globally.
• Booking.com: Booking.com is the world's largest online travel agency, offering flights, hotels, and car rentals. Its flight product and ownership of Momondo and Kayak make it a broad incumbent competitor with both direct booking and metasearch capabilities overlapping Aviasales' offering.
• Aviasales (Hotels via Booking.com integration): Agoda is a major online travel agency owned by Booking Holdings with deep presence in Asia. It is comparable as a competitor in the broader flight and hotel distribution space that Aviasales addresses through its hotels product and partnership integrations.

Emerging players

• Kiwi.com: Kiwi.com is a travel booking platform specializing in cheap flights including virtual interlining. While it overlaps with Aviasales on flight price comparison and budget-conscious travelers, it generates revenue by acting as an online travel agent rather than purely a metasearch redirector.
• Hopper: Hopper is a mobile-first travel app offering flight and hotel booking with price prediction and flexible cancellation. While focused on direct booking rather than metasearch, it competes with Aviasales for the same budget-conscious mobile traveler.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aviasales
• Facebookfacebook.com/aviasales.ru
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aviasales

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aviasales