Flexible OTA catches on with Gen Z

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In focus

For this edition, we cover:

• How Fly Fairly became profitable by serving a niche audience
• Funding for Japan-based startups, explained via charts
• Taiwan’s new sovereign wealth fund

Hello reader,

While purchasing a budget airline flight some years ago, I remember clicking through baggage add-ons, only to land on a final payment page where I was slapped with additional “booking and service fees” and an extra payment surcharge if I chose to pay via credit card or PayPal.

Out of principle, my friend and I chose the no-fee option, even though paying via SingPost’s self-service automated machine was a more cumbersome process.

This isn’t an uncommon practice for airlines and online travel agencies (OTAs). Because flight tickets are highly price elastic, much of the user experience is catered to surfacing the cheapest flights upfront – even if that isn’t the final price.

One company in Singapore is betting that the lack of pricing transparency and the inability to make adjustments to flight bookings and payments are enough of a pain point to make them a core value proposition.

Today’s big story features Fly Fairly, a new-generation travel platform founded by ex-ShopBack executive Alexander Yardley, who has led the commercial teams at the rewards app as well as Agoda and eBay.

It’s targeting a small niche of consumers, particularly millennials and Gen Z, who want the option to pay via buy now, pay later (BNPL) or even cryptocurrencies.

What’s more is that Fly Fairly is profitable and operating sustainably. How does it do that, you might wonder? Read the full story to find out.

Melissa Goh, editor

The Big Story

Fly Fairly takes off by delivering flexibility to Gen Z travelers

Photo credit: tang90246 / 123RF

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