- FLIO and LuckyTrip selected as first startups for easyJet and Founders Factory Travel Tech accelerator programme
- FLIO and LuckyTrip selected as first startups to enter six-month accelerator programme
- Each will receive hands on support from Founders Factory and easyJet for six months to catapult their growth
LUTON, UK, 2017-Feb-18 — /Travel PR News/ — easyJet and Founders Factory are excited to announce the first two travel startups selected for their Travel Tech accelerator programme.
In October 2016 easyJet announced a strategic investment into Founders Factory, the corporate backed incubator and accelerator founded by Brent Hoberman and Henry Lane Fox. As part of their partnership, easyJet and Founders Factory will support the growth of five early stage travel tech startups and co-create two new travel businesses within the incubator programme every year, for five years.
The first two startups being announced for the accelerator programme are:
FLIO
The global airport app is the ultimate app for frequent travellers. FLIO comes complete with maps, shopping deals, airport tips and departure information to help passengers navigate the airport and make their journey less stressful. Founded by Stephan Uhrenbacher (founder Qype), Brian Collie (ex BAA plc and lastminute.com), Andy Watson (early Spotify), and currently working with 900 airports, FLIO aims to become the single app solution for every airport in the world.
LuckyTrip
Voted by Apple as ‘App Store Best of 2015’ and founded by London brothers Tiff and Alex Burns, LuckyTrip enables the (typically millennial) traveller to simply set their budget and find a unique holiday in just one tap. Each trip gives you somewhere to go and the cheapest flight to get there, somewhere to stay and something to do.
James Millett, Director of Digital & Marketing easyJet, said: “We’re delighted to announce the first companies in our Founders Factory initiative and welcome both FLIO and LuckyTrip into the easyJet portfolio. Both companies have strong mobile first propositions in travel inspiration and airport experience that are already getting real traction with customers, have fantastic initiatives in their pipelines and passionate, talented entrepreneurs at the helm.
“Our five-year commitment to Founders Factory is all about putting disruptive thinking right at the heart of our digital activities to continue making things easier for customers at all stages of their journey with us. We look forward to working with the FLIO and LuckyTrip teams.”
Henry Lane Fox, Co-founder and CEO, Founders Factory, said: “Our in-house operations team will be providing an intense, bespoke support programme to assist with the growth of FLIO and LuckyTrip, something which, when combined with the industry knowledge and audience scale of easyJet, will mean an unparalleled offer for these startups.
“Our hunt for the brightest and best new innovation in travel tech is ongoing, and anyone with a great idea and brilliant team should get in touch with Founders Factory.
About easyJet
easyJet is Europe’s leading airline offering a unique and winning combination of the best route network connecting Europe’s primary airports, with great value fares and friendly service.
easyJet flies on more of Europe’s most popular routes than any other airline. easyJet carries over 70 million passengers annually, of which more than 12 million are travelling on business. easyJet flies over 250 aircraft on more than 800 routes to over 133 airports across 31 countries. More than 300 million Europeans live within one hour’s drive of an easyJet airport.
easyJet aims to be a good corporate citizen, employing people on local contracts in seven countries across Europe in full compliance with national laws and recognising their trade unions. The airline supports a number of local charities and also has a corporate partnership with UNICEF which has raised over £6m for the most vulnerable children since it was established in 2012.
The airline takes sustainability seriously. easyJet invests in the latest technology, operates efficiently and fills most of its seats which means that an easyJet passenger’s carbon footprint is 22% less than a passenger on a traditional airline, flying the same aircraft on the same route.
Innovation is in easyJet’s DNA – from our launch almost 20 years ago when we changed the way people fly to the present day where we lead the industry in digital, web, engineering and operational innovations to make travel more easy and affordable for our passengers.
About Founders Factory
Founders Factory is a new model in business creation, with genuine ambition and breadth, backed by some of the worlds leading corporates across six sectors: easyJet (Travel), L’Oréal (Beauty), Aviva (Fintech), Holtzbrinck (Education), Guardian Media Group (Media) and CSC Group (Artificial Intelligence).
Founders Factory’s in-house team is also composed of digital experts, many of whom are successful entrepreneurs themselves.
Positioned at the very heart of the global tech community and benefiting from its strong links to Founders Forum, Founders Factory will build and scale over 200 early stage technology companies across six sectors over the next five years.
Founders Factory is accepting applications from tech startups across all six sectors: https://foundersfactory.com/accelerator/
www.foundersfactory.com
@foundersfactory
Contact easyJet:
easyJet Press Office
01582 525252
www.easyjet.com
@easyJet_Press
Contact Founder Factory:
Amy Grimshaw
Head of PR & Communications
amy@foundersfactory.com
(+44) 7817240004
Source: easyJet
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