Draft:eSky
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Last edited by Bearcat (talk | contribs) 3 days ago. (Update) |
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Tourism, Travel, Hospitality |
| Founded | 1 July 2004 |
| Founder | Łukasz Habaj Łukasz Kręski Piotr Stępniewski Agnieszka Stępniewska |
| Headquarters | Green Park, Murckowska 14A Street, Katowice, Poland |
Area served | |
Key people | Łukasz Habaj (CEO) Andrzej Kozłowski (CFO) Łukasz Neska (CGO) Piotr Woś (CTO) |
| Brands | eSky eDestinos Thomas Cook Tourism |
| Services | Package holidays and city breaks Flights Accommodations Travel insurance Car and yacht rentals Experiences, attractions Sporting events |
| Revenue |  €801,000,000 (+42% YoY) (2023) |
 €18,700,000 (-11% YoY) (2023) | |
Number of employees | 750+ (as of September 2024) |
| Parent | 55% stake in eSky Group holds private equity fund MCI Capital |
| Website | esky |
eSky is a Polish travel company, founded in 2004[1], operating in over 50 markets across Europe, South and North America, as well as some countries in Africa and Asia–Pacific region[2]. As an online travel agency[3] it sells city breaks[4] and package holidays[5] bundling flights and hotels into dynamic packages[6], as well as stand-alone flights, accommodations, and ancillary services for travellers (e.g., insurance, airport transfers, car rentals, and tickets to sporting events and attractions) using its custom-built search engine – eSky Travel Search[7].
The company operates under the brands eSky (Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania)[8], eDestinos (Latin America)[8][9] and Thomas Cook (UK, Netherlands, Belgium)[10]. It is an agent accredited by the International Air Transport Association (IATA)[11].
Business profile
[edit]eSky operates on European markets (Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom[12]), in South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico and El Salvador), North America (United States, Mexico), Africa (Morocco, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa) and the Asia-Pacific region[13][14][15][16]. In South America, the company operates under the eDestinos brand[8][9].
eSky sells flight tickets of nearly 600 airlines worldwide[17] and provides hotel bookings (over 1.3 million properties) — both are available also in the form of City Break and Holidays (Flight+Hotel) product[6], known in the travel industry as dynamic packaging. It also offers travel insurance and car rental services, airport transfers and car park reservations. The company has also been developing eSky Travel Search, a custom-built search engine for travel products[7].
The eSky's headquarters are located in Katowice, Poland[18].
History
[edit]Lukasz Habaj, Lukasz Kreski and Agnieszka and Piotr Stępniewski founded the company in 2004, which initially handled trips within the Work and Travel programme[19]. Since 2005, it has been selling flight tickets via its online platform. In 2009, eSky launched an online hotel booking system and travel insurance sales, and in 2015 a car rental service[20]. As a result of its business transformation into a online travel agency, in 2023 eSky introduced the City Break and Holidays dynamic package product, integrating it with the other services available on the platform[21].
From 2008, the company started to operate in foreign markets, initially through local branches in Europea and South America[20]. During this period, a search engine for travel products – eSky Travel Search (ETS)[7] – was launched, which is now also used by external partners, including Onet.pl, Fly4Free.pl and Pasazer.com[22].
In 2014, the company secured an external private equity fund as an investor[23]. A year later, it acquired TravelTECH, a company focused on creating and developing software for the travel industry. In 2015, eSky sold more than one million flight tickets and generated revenue of PLN 1 billion[20].
In 2016, changes took place in the company's board of directors, related to a switch from the ownership management model to a managerial one. From 2016 to 2017, the former CEO of LOT Polish Airlines Sebastian Mikosz was the Chairman of the Board of eSky[24].
In June 2017, 6.3% of the eSky's shares were purchased for PLN 15.6 million by Wirtualna Polska Group[25], which in March 2020 decided to sell its stake in eSky through a put option[26].
In January 2019, eSky's flight search app was launched with the Polish version of Google Assistant[27][28][29].
In 2020, Łukasz Habaj, one of eSky's founders, returned to the company to lead it through the travel industry's biggest crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as CEO[30].
In February 2022, the MCI.PrivateVentures FIZ fund owned by publicly listed MCI Capital entered into an agreement to purchase 55% of the shares in eSky[31]. The fund's aim was to support the Polish travel company in strengthening its position in the global market and implementing its strategy of building a technological edge. The founders of eSky remained the controlling shareholders holding a total of 45% of the company's shares, and the transaction amounted to approximately PLN 158 million, including the recapitalisation of the company[32].
In 2023, eSky exceeded the PLN 3 billion mark in sales revenue for the first time in its history, achieving a result of PLN 3.5 billion in Total Transaction Value. In turn, the company's EBITDA at that time amounted to PLN 81 million. In 2023, 3.3 million customers used the company's services and the total number of bookings amounted to 2.2 million[33].
In April 2024, eSky entered into a partnership with Europe's largest low-cost carrier, Ryanair[34]. Thanks to the agreement, eSky customers gained access to the full route network and the possibility to book flights directly on eSky platform[35]. The premise of the partnership was to achieve price transparency and direct access for customers of the travel platform to their flight bookings through the carrier's system[36].
In September 2024, under an acquisition agreement signed with the Fosun Tourism Group, eSky completed the acquisition of the world's oldest travel brand, Thomas Cook (excluding its operations in China and India)[37]. The main objective of the acquisition was to build on Thomas Cook's experience in package tourism to bring eSky into the top three dynamic package holidays providers in Europe[38]. For eSky, this move was aimed to strengthen its position in the UK and Western Europe[39], as well as to accelerate international expansion in countries where the Thomas Cook brand is best known[40]. Thomas Cook has one of the most recognisable brands in the UK travel market[41]. As a result of the acquisition, the UK company will gain access to eSky's flight inventory of more than 500 full-service and low-cost carriers, such as Lufthansa Group or Ryanair[42].
References
[edit]- ^ "Grupa eSky: globalna platforma podróży o polskich korzeniach", biuroprasowe.esky.pl (in Polish)
- ^ "Rekordowa sprzedaż Grupy eSky", Rzeczpospolita (in Polish)
- ^ "Strategia Grupy eSky: czołowa platforma do organizacji podróży w regionie CEE do 2027 roku", biuroprasowe.esky.pl (in Polish)
- ^ "Rzym już nie jest faworytem. Gdzie latają Polacy na city break?", www.rynek-lotniczy.pl (in Polish)
- ^ "Trik na urlop tańszy o 30 proc. Touroperatorzy już trzęsą portkami", Bizblog.pl – serwis biznesowy (in Polish), 2024-02-17
- ^ a b "ESky: Nasze pakiety „city break" i „wakacje" konkurencją dla oferty touroperatorów", Rzeczpospolita (in Polish)
- ^ a b c "To oni stoją za cyfryzacją polskich firm. Chief Digital Officer of the Year wybrani", Forbes.pl (in Polish)
- ^ a b c "O nas – eSky Partners – System Afiliacyjny marki eSky", eSky Partners (in Polish)
- ^ a b "eDestinos.com – Vuelos baratos, Tiquetes Aéreos, Hoteles", eDestinos.com – Vuelos baratos, Tiquetes Aéreos, Hoteles (in Spanish)
- ^ Marzena Tarkowska (2024-09-05), "Polacy przejmują legendę światowych podróży. Co chcą zaoferować turystom?", Podróże Wprost (in Polish)
- ^ Under the no.: 63210803, "IATA CheckACode Evaluation".
- ^ Sebastian Gawłowski (2024-03-20), "eSky pierwszą polską firmą z licencją ATOL", ISBtech.pl (in Polish)
- ^ "Grupa eSky na nowych rynkach w Afryce", rynek-turystyczny.pl
- ^ "ESky w Boliwii, Portoryko i Kostaryce", Rzeczpospolita (in Polish)
- ^ "ESky wkracza do Azji", Rzeczpospolita (in Polish)
- ^ Paweł Kubisiak, Łukasz Neska, "Podróż z przesiadkami na nowe rynki | ICAN | Paweł Kubisiak, Łukasz Neska", mitsmr.pl (in Polish)
- ^ "Esky :: deals24.com Polska", pl.deals24.com
- ^ "ESKY.PL", Rejestr.io
- ^ "Na pomysł wpadli w czasie wyjazdu na saksy do USA. Dziś eSky działa w 30 krajach, a wartość transakcji przekracza 1 mld zł", MamBiznes.pl (in Polish), 2018-06-22
- ^ a b c "Wysokie loty eSKY. Miliony zarobione na biletach lotniczych".
- ^ Weronika Szabelewska (2023-06-06), "Nowość w eSky: pakietowanie dynamiczne. Serwis chce konkurować z touroperatorami", Wasza Turystyka (in Polish)
- ^ "Kim jesteśmy?".
- ^ "eSKY.pl wpuścił inwestora".
- ^ "Były prezes LOT-u Sebastian Mikosz zostanie prezesem eSKY.pl", Rzeczpospolita (in Polish)
- ^ "Wirtualna Polska inwestuje 15,6 mln zł w eSky.pl".
- ^ "Wirtualna Polska: 17 mln zł wpływów ze sprzedaży 6,5 proc. akcji eSky", wirtualnemedia.pl (in Polish)
- ^ "„Hej Google, jestem głodny". Od teraz zamówisz Pyszne.pl lub kupisz bilety przez Asystenta Google".
- ^ "eSky integruje się z Asystentem Google. Głosowe wyszukiwanie lotów".
- ^ "Biznes pokochał cyfrowego asystenta".
- ^ "Współwłaściciel eSky.pl przejmuje stery w spółce", Rzeczpospolita (in Polish)
- ^ "eSky ze wzrostem sprzedaży o 34 proc., MCI zainwestuje 158 mln zł w 55 proc. akcji", wirtualnemedia.pl (in Polish), 2022-02-02
- ^ "MCI.EuroVentures obejmie 55% udziałów w eSky – Grupa MCI Capital S.A.", mci.pl (in Polish), 2022-02-02
- ^ "Przychody eSky wzrosły w 2023 roku o 19 proc do 3,5 mld zł", biznes.pap.pl (in Polish)
- ^ Materiał Partnera (2024-04-02), "Ryanair podpisał porozumienie z eSky", ISBtech.pl (in Polish)
- ^ Mieczysław Pawłowicz (2024-05-10), "Ryanair podpisał umowę z eSky", Wasza Turystyka (in Polish)
- ^ "eSky oficjalnym partnerem Ryanair i 6. OTA współpracującym z irlandzkim przewoźnikiem", biuroprasowe.esky.pl (in Polish)
- ^ "Thomas Cook to była potęga wśród biur podróży. Teraz kupują go Polacy", Bizblog.pl – serwis biznesowy (in Polish), 2024-09-05
- ^ "Polska platforma turystyczna eSky.pl kupiła znaną brytyjską markę Thomas Cook", Rzeczpospolita (in Polish)
- ^ "Nowe biuro podróży w Polsce. eSky przejął wielkiego i doświadczonego gracza", naTemat.pl (in Polish)
- ^ "eSky robi tak po raz pierwszy i kupuje legendę. Na tym zyskają pasażerowie", INNPoland.pl (in Polish)
- ^ "Travel portals brand awareness KPI ranking UK 2023", Statista
- ^ "Polacy przejmują światowego giganta. To najstarsza marka turystyczna", Fakt (in Polish), 2024-09-06