I am not affiliated with Adioso in any way and this is what I can remember about them but, I hope it answers some of your questions.
Adioso quietly launched to Australian discount travellers in early 2008 which had a simple interface and the ability to search over broad terms.
It was initially a side-project but they ended up pursuing it further - and got into YC W'09 program. They had a major global launch in 2010.
With regards to the technology behind the site, Adioso use NLP rather than the traditional stuff you find on other travel type sites entering the origin dates etc in forms, with Adioso, you can enter stuff like "Europe In July" etc.
They also have a routing engine which links flights from low-cost airlines to create long-haul itineraries to help their users save $$$.
Essentially the value proposition for Adioso is to:
- allow travellers with flexible dates & destinations to see where they can go/look for alternatives they never may have thought of
- Use low-cost airlines to make long-haul flights - saving you $$$
With regards to their revenue model - even if it happens on a third party site - they can still take referral fees from both airlines and accomodation.
Similarly, I believe for all of these travel search engines etc that there is the potential to develop a new method for airlines to advertise their services and acquire new customers - there would also be some referal fees (and potentially an upfront fee) for this as well.
Adioso quietly launched to Australian discount travellers in early 2008 which had a simple interface and the ability to search over broad terms.
It was initially a side-project but they ended up pursuing it further - and got into YC W'09 program. They had a major global launch in 2010.
With regards to the technology behind the site, Adioso use NLP rather than the traditional stuff you find on other travel type sites entering the origin dates etc in forms, with Adioso, you can enter stuff like "Europe In July" etc.
They also have a routing engine which links flights from low-cost airlines to create long-haul itineraries to help their users save $$$.
Essentially the value proposition for Adioso is to:
- allow travellers with flexible dates & destinations to see where they can go/look for alternatives they never may have thought of
- Use low-cost airlines to make long-haul flights - saving you $$$
With regards to their revenue model - even if it happens on a third party site - they can still take referral fees from both airlines and accomodation.
Similarly, I believe for all of these travel search engines etc that there is the potential to develop a new method for airlines to advertise their services and acquire new customers - there would also be some referal fees (and potentially an upfront fee) for this as well.