What The Aviation Herald does

The Aviation Herald, operating under the legal entity NOMIS SOFT Datenverarbeitung Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, is a privately held Austrian news publication headquartered in Salzburg (St. Julienstraße 2/801) that reports daily on incidents, accidents, and safety-relevant news in civil (air-transport-category) aviation. Founded as a web property in 2008 by editor Simon Hradecky, with incident coverage extending back to March 23rd 1994, the platform maintains an archive of 32,783 articles documenting events through June 25th 2026. The audience is a horizontal mix of aviation professionals, enthusiasts, and researchers/media who consume incident reports, photos, map visualizations of departure/destination points, and reader-comment discussions.

The core product is the website avherald.com, supplemented by the AVHAPP mobile application for iOS (released August 2014, $12.99 / €11.99–12.99 one-time license) and Android, both of which provide offline reading, category color coding (crash, accident, incident, news, report), read-tracking, and great-circle map tracks. A separate desktop email-notification subscription service supports both Euro and US dollar payments. The product roadmap has been predominantly maintenance-driven — the most recent iOS release was v1.05 in February 2022 (iOS 15 compatibility) — rather than feature expansion. In December 2025 the founder extended into long-form physical publishing with the hardcover book 'Germanwings: Die Untersuchung' (novum Verlag, 436 pages, ISBN 978-3991309260, €51.63), covering the Germanwings Flight 4U9525 investigation.

The business model is a one-time license / transactional consumer model: app purchases via Apple App Store and Google Play, book sales through Amazon, and low-friction subscriptions for incident alerts. The company has no external funding, no parent, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed enterprise contracts; it is operated as a solo entrepreneurial venture under the Austrian GmbH. Revenue is not publicly disclosed, and no AI/ML capabilities, APIs, or third-party integrations are present in the disclosed technology stack. Marketing is primarily direct, word-of-mouth within the aviation community, with no documented paid advertising programs.

Name

The Aviation Herald

Legal name

NOMIS SOFT Datenverarbeitung Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung

Website

https://avherald.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Aviation Herald is a privately held, single-editor aviation safety news publication (operated by Simon Hradecky from Salzburg, Austria) reporting daily on civil aviation incidents and accidents via avherald.com, mobile apps, and desktop subscriptions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Salzburg

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Mobile Application Sales: Sale of dedicated iOS and Android applications (AVHAPP) providing access to The Aviation Herald content. The apps permit easy and comfortable access to content via mobile devices with features including list occurrences, search, story selection, photos, maps, additional details, and reader comments.
2. Book Sales: Sale of hardcover books authored by Simon Hradecky on aviation accident investigations, including 'Germanwings: Die Untersuchung' covering the Germanwings Flight 4U9525 crash.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Aviation Herald is an online news platform reporting daily about safety-relevant incidents and critical situations in civil air transport aviation. It provides a searchable archive of 32,783 articles covering aviation incidents, accidents, and news dating from March 1994 to present, accessible via its website and dedicated iOS/Android mobile apps (AVHAPP). The service is authored by aviation safety expert Simon Hradecky and includes detailed incident reports, photos, maps with departure/destination visualization, and reader comment discussions.

Product overview

The Aviation Herald is a single unified news and incident reporting platform focused on safety-relevant events in commercial aviation. The core product is the website at avherald.com, which is complemented by mobile applications for Android (AVHAPP) and iOS devices (AVHAPP) that enable offline reading and mobile access to the incident database. A subscription service provides desktop notifications for new incidents. Additionally, founder Simon Hradecky has published a book on the Germanwings crash investigation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Aviation Herald Website The primary online platform providing coverage of safety-relevant incidents and news in air transport category aviation. Offers a searchable database of aviation incidents dating back to March 23rd 1994, with over 32,783 articles available. Includes incident listings, articles, photos, maps showing departure and destination, and reader comments.
• AVHAPP (iOS App) iPhone and iPad application enabling full offline reading, tracking of already read articles, colour coding by incident category (crash, accident, incident, news, report), image/video identification, and map views with great circle tracks. Available on iOS 8.0 and later.
• AVHAPP (Android App) Android mobile application providing easy and comfortable access to The Aviation Herald's content, including incident lists, search, photos, maps showing departure and destination, reader comments, and offline reading capability.
• Subscription Service Email notification service allowing users to receive aviation incident news directly onto their desktop when incidents occur. Supports Euro and USD payment options for full content access.
• Germanwings: Die Untersuchung (Book) A hardcover book authored by Simon Hradecky covering the investigation into the Germanwings A320 crash (Flight 4U9525). Published December 4, 2025 by novum Verlag. 436 pages, German language. ISBN: 978-3991309260.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• JACDEC (Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre): JACDEC is a German-based aviation accident database and risk analytics service providing crash data, airline safety rankings, and incident analysis. It overlaps directly with The Aviation Herald's incident-reporting and historical-archive proposition for aviation safety professionals.
• Aviation Safety Network: Aviation Safety Network (ASN), operated by the Flight Safety Foundation, maintains one of the most comprehensive publicly accessible databases of aviation accidents and serious incidents globally. It is the most direct competitor to The Aviation Herald in tracking and reporting aviation safety events with a similar historical archive focus.
• AeroInside: AeroInside is an aviation incident reporting platform that catalogs crew and passenger reports, safety incidents, and notable events. It competes with The Aviation Herald for the same aviation safety information audience using a similar incident-list-and-detail format.

Emerging players

• Simple Flying: Simple Flying is a digital aviation news publisher covering airlines, safety, and industry topics for a broad enthusiast audience. It overlaps with The Aviation Herald on aviation safety coverage but reaches a much larger consumer audience through broader editorial scope.
• PlaneSpotters.net: PlaneSpotters.net is an aviation enthusiast site focused on fleet data, aircraft photography, and airliner news. It overlaps with The Aviation Herald's enthusiast audience but covers a broader aviation enthusiast vertical rather than safety incidents specifically.

Broad incumbents

• Aviation Week Network: Aviation Week is an established global aviation media brand covering industry news, safety, MRO, and defense across commercial aviation. It is a much broader incumbent than The Aviation Herald but overlaps on aviation safety journalism and the professional aviation readership.
• FlightAware: FlightAware is a leading ADS-B-based flight tracking platform serving both consumer and enterprise aviation markets. It competes for the attention of aviation professionals who use The Aviation Herald, while also providing operational data that complements incident reporting.
• FlightGlobal: FlightGlobal is a long-established aviation news and data business covering airlines, MRO, safety, and industry intelligence. It serves a partially overlapping aviation professional audience with The Aviation Herald but at much broader industry scope.
• Flightradar24: Flightradar24 is a global flight tracking platform with a massive enthusiast audience that also covers incidents and disruptions. It is a broader incumbent that overlaps with The Aviation Herald at the intersection of aviation tracking and incident awareness for enthusiast and professional users.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/avherald

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about The Aviation Herald