UK-based startup Duffel has recently raised $30 million (£27.1 million) in a Series B round of funding. This money will be used to launch the startup’s brand new booking platform, which includes such successful airlines as British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia. The money raised in this funding round will be used to grow the team at Duffel, with plans to hire additional engineers to help with its expansion in Europe and North America.
Duffel is a travel tech startup that helps travel agencies to organise bookings for their clients straight from the airlines’ reservation system. Agencies using Duffel will have access to the live seating availability for flights in addition to real-time offers for these flight tickets. This helps to feed the travel agencies’ demands for a smoother booking process.
The Series B funding round was led by Index Ventures, who have previously invested in the likes of Slack, Adyen and Dropbox. Benchmark Capital (backers for Uber), also participated in this round of funding, along with Blossom Capital. Index Venture’s Jan Hammer has commented on this impressive travel tech startup; stating on behalf of the venture capital firm that they are impressed with Duffel’s team, and have supported the startup since their seed funding stage.
Hammer further comments that “There is an opportunity here to transform the booking experience for travellers and ease many of the pain points in the industry” and further “From the launch of budget airlines to sharing economy businesses like Airbnb, travel has changed and Duffel will provide the tools, built from the ground up, that make the next wave of innovation possible.”
Before Duffel, travel agencies would’ve had to have experienced high costs and long lead times when booking flights with the airlines through an outdated API system. Duffel’s innovative new platform helps agencies to gain instant access to airlines, subsequently making some big improvements to the travel industry.
Co-founder of Duffel Steve Domin has commented on the travel tech startup’s new platforms, stating that: “A new breed of online agencies want to access reservation systems quickly and seamlessly. By reinventing the underwiring between online agents and airlines we can transform the world of travel booking and reduce barriers to entry for innovative new companies that are offering travellers a whole new way of creating a holiday or trip.”
This recent round of funding for Duffel could help the startup to grow considerably. This could further grow the travel tech industry, and thereby the travel industry as a whole, for the better.
