What Damarel does

Damarel Systems International Ltd is a privately held UK software house founded in 1988 that develops mission-critical aviation IT systems for airline, airport, and ground handling operations. The company maintains three product families: passenger processing solutions (L-DCS local departure control system, Babel CLF common language facility, Embark automated boarding, LodeStone weight and balance, Backup DCS for business continuity, and Babel ZIP middleware), the FiNDnet suite of ground handling modules (turn management, service capture, automated billing, staff allocation, mobile ramp workforce, dashboards, FIDS, and demand planning), and airport security/common-use platforms (Vanguard document scanning and Aura CUTE). Products are certified on all major common-use platforms including SITA, ARINC/Collins, RESA, Ultra, Travelsky, and Amadeus ACUS. The technology is delivered as either locally installed software or fully hosted cloud/SaaS deployments, with FiNDnet migrated to AWS infrastructure in 2023.

The company serves enterprise customers across three primary verticals: low-cost, charter, and full-service airlines (200+ supported); airports of varying scale (nearly 200 Babel installations); and ground handling agents (anchor relationships with Swissport, dnata, Globalia Groundforce, Onet, and GGS). Revenue is generated through software licensing, cloud/SaaS subscriptions, and professional services including implementation, training, and 24/7 support, on multi-year contracts priced via quote-based enterprise sales. Distribution combines direct enterprise sales, regional resellers (Fortech Systems in China, Seetek SA in Italy/Switzerland), and technology integrations with CUTE/CUPPS platform providers. The company is privately held with no disclosed external investment, operates from a Surrey headquarters, and has shown steady product modernization rather than venture-style scale-up.

Name

Damarel

Legal name

Damarel Systems International Ltd

Website

https://damarel.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Damarel Systems International Ltd is a UK-based, privately held software house founded in 1988 that builds mission-critical aviation IT systems — including departure control, common-use passenger processing, and ground handling turn management — for airlines, airports, and ground handling agents worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aviation IT Software

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

iBPMS (Intelligent BPM Suites) & Process Automation Suites (HDAEAHAG)

Keywords

• Aviation IT software
• Airport operations systems
• Departure control systems
• Ground handling software
• Passenger processing software

Headquarters

HQ city

Farnham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Software Licenses: Damarel licenses their software products including L-DCS, Babel, FiNDnet Suite, LodeStone, Embark, Vanguard, and Backup DCS. Software can be delivered as locally installed or cloud-hosted (SaaS) solutions.
2. Cloud/SaaS Hosting: Fully hosted data center solutions delivered via subscription model. Damarel operates UK-based data centers (upgraded in 2015, migrated to AWS) offering reduced IT overhead for customers. Deployment model increasingly popular offering faster rollout and cost savings.
3. Professional Services: Implementation, training, and customization services including bespoke development for unique customer requirements. Support services up to 24/7 cover with remote access capabilities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Damarel develops and sells mission-critical aviation IT software for airport operations, including Departure Control Systems (L-DCS), Common Use platforms (Aura, Babel CLF), automated boarding (Embark), aircraft weight and balance (LodeStone), and the FiNDnet Suite for ground handling turn management, service capture and automated billing. Solutions are sold as licensed on-premise software or hosted SaaS deployments from UK data centers and AWS, serving airlines, airports and ground handling agents worldwide.

Product overview

Damarel offers a modular platform-plus-products architecture for airport IT operations. The core product families are: (1) Passenger Processing solutions including L-DCS (Local Departure Control System) for low-cost/charter airlines, Babel CLF (Common Language Facility) for CUTE/CUPPS platforms, Embark automated boarding, LodeStone weight and balance, and Backup DCS for business continuity; (2) FiNDnet Suite for Ground Handlers comprising the core FiNDnet Operations turn management platform with modular add-ons including FiNDnet Services (service capture), FiNDnet Billing (automated airline invoicing), FiNDnet Allocations (staff/resource planning), FiNDnet Mobile (ramp workforce), FiNDnet Dashboards (BI), FiNDnet FIDS (flight displays), FiNDnet Shift Optimiser, and FiNDnet Demand Planning; and (3) Airport Security including Vanguard document scanning and Aura Common Use platform. Solutions are available as locally installed or fully hosted cloud/SaaS deployments. The company has been providing aviation IT solutions since 1988.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• L-DCS (Local Departure Control System) Industry-leading Departure Control System for low-cost, point-to-point, and charter airlines providing automated passenger check-in and boarding. Available as locally installed or fully hosted cloud solution, supporting over 200 airlines at 45+ airport installations.
• L-DCS Xpress Affordable, entry-level DCS designed specifically for low volume airlines and point-to-point carriers providing essential check-in and boarding functionality.
• LodeStone Weight & Balance Automated aircraft Weight and Balance system companion to L-DCS providing advanced load control for narrow and wide-body aircraft with optimized trim for fuel efficiency.
• Babel CLF (Common Language Facility) Advanced Common Language Facility providing a script-driven, customizable Graphical User Interface for airline check-in, supporting multiple CUTE/CUPPS platforms and DCS providers. Installed in nearly 200 airports supporting over 50 airlines.
• Babel ZIP (Zero Integration Platform) Zero Integration Platform middleware enabling native airline applications to run on CUTE/CUPPS platforms without modification, eliminating the need for platform-specific customization.
• Embark Automated Boarding Automated passenger boarding system providing fast, secure airline boarding using modern technology with transparent DCS connection for passenger list retrieval. Installed in over 150 sites worldwide.
• EMBARKmobile Mobile airline boarding solution allowing use of smartphones and tablets for passenger boarding processes, extending Embark capabilities to mobile devices.
• Backup DCS Business Continuity solution providing full check-in and boarding capability in event of primary airline DCS failure, with hot standby architecture supporting multiple deployment configurations.
• FiNDnet Enterprise (FiNDnet Suite) Next-generation enterprise-class turn management, service capture, and billing solution for ground handlers, including Operations, Services, Billing, Allocations, Mobile, Dashboards, and FIDS modules. Cloud-hosted on AWS with dual Availability Zones. FiNDnet Billing invoiced over US$1.5 billion of ground handling services in 2020 for Swissport alone.
• Vanguard Airport Security Airport Security solution providing automated document scanning and processing for 2D bar code and ATB2 documents, controlling outbound access points and supporting self-service boarding gates.
• Aura Common Use (CUTE) Cost-effective Common Use Terminal Equipment (CUTE) platform for small to medium-sized regional airports, enabling shared use of check-in and gate facilities with virtualization and private cloud hosting capabilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Revenue boost of 3-5% (often more) by correctly billing for all ground handling services
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered regional and core.

• Fortech SystemsregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2007Fortech Systems appointed as Damarel's agent in China in 2007. Based in Shanghai, the team has extensive experience in the aviation industry dealing with airlines, ground handlers, and airports throughout PRC. Provides local presence and product support.
• British Aviation Group (BAG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDamarel is part of the British Aviation Group (BAG), the leading representative body for UK companies involved in the airport and aviation development sector. BAG provides networking, advocacy, and business development opportunities within the UK aviation industry.
• Seetek SAregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSeetek SA operates as Damarel's reseller for Italy and Switzerland. Located at Via Landriani 2A, 6906 Lugano, Switzerland, with website www.seetekairportsolutions.com.
• SITAcoreTechnology or IntegrationSITA CUTE/NT and AirportConnect (APC) platform integration. Damarel's products are certified for use on SITA platforms, enabling deployment across SITA's global customer base of airlines and airports.
• ARINC (Collins Aerospace)coreTechnology or IntegrationARINC iMUSE/vMUSE platform integration. Damarel solutions certified on ARINC platforms for common use passenger processing systems.
• RESAcoreTechnology or IntegrationRESA CREWS platform integration. Damarel products certified for use with RESA's customer boarding and resource management solutions.
• AmadeuscoreTechnology or IntegrationAmadeus ACUS Common Use platform integration. L-DCS deployed via Amadeus ACUS at Cambodia Airports. Damarel solutions work with Amadeus Altéa platform integrations.
• TravelskycoreTechnology or IntegrationTravelsky Angel CUTE platform integration. Enables support for Chinese aviation market and Travelsky-based airline systems.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreTechnology or IntegrationAWS cloud infrastructure for FiNDnet hosting. Migration completed for FiNDnet Classic with features including Elastic Load Balancing, Auto Scaling, Amazon RDS, Dual Availability Zones for BC/DR, and CDN delivery.
• IATAcoreTechnology or IntegrationIATA standardization partnerships including Simplified Invoicing and Settlement (SIS), IATA Clearing House (ICH), IS-XML, CUSS (Common Use Self-Service), and various standards for APIS, Secure Flight, and CUTE/CUPPS platforms.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• SITA: SITA operates the dominant global CUTE/CUPPS platform (AirportConnect) used by hundreds of airlines and airports; directly competes with Damarel's Aura and certified L-DCS/Babel integrations on the SITA platform.
• Collins Aerospace (ARINC): Collins Aerospace (formerly Rockwell Collins/ARINC) provides the iMUSE/vMUSE common-use platform that competes directly with Damarel's Aura CUTE and is one of the certified platforms for L-DCS and Babel.
• RESA: RESA provides CREWS, a competing common-use passenger processing platform; Damarel is certified on RESA CREWS and they compete head-to-head for airport common-use deployments.
• Ultra Electronics (UltraCUSE): Ultra's UltraCUSE Common Use platform is one of the certified platforms Damarel competes against for airport common-use terminal equipment installations.
• AirIT: AirIT provides a common-use passenger processing platform that is one of the certified platforms for Damarel products and competes for the same airport IT spend.
• INFORM GmbH: INFORM's GroundStar suite is a leading ground handling operations platform with turn management, service capture, and billing modules directly comparable to Damarel's FiNDnet Suite.

Broad incumbents

• Amadeus: Amadeus operates the ACUS common-use platform and Altéa passenger service system that bundle and compete with Damarel's L-DCS/Babel/Embark suite across major airline and airport customers.
• ADB Safegate: ADB Safegate offers a broad airport operations portfolio (gate management, airfield lighting, A-CDM) that increasingly overlaps with Damarel's airport automation suite.
• Jeppesen (Boeing): Jeppesen provides airport operations and crew management software serving the same airline and ground handling customers, competing broadly for aviation IT wallet share.

Regional players

• Travelsky: Travelsky's Angel CUTE platform is the dominant Chinese common-use provider; Damarel is certified on Angel and they compete in PRC regional airports and Chinese airline operations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/damarelsystems
• LinkedInuk.linkedin.com/company/damarel-systems-international-ltd-?trk=ppro_cprof

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

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 Damarel