eSky Group is a Polish-based

travel technology Travel technology (also called tourism technology, and hospitality automation) is the application of Information Technology (IT) or Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. Some forms of tra ...

company that owns and operates several online travel agency brands in 50 markets across Europe, the Americas, and Africa. The company provides dynamic packages for holidays and city breaks, standalone flights, accommodations, and other travel services. The Group operates under the eSky (Europe, North America, Africa), eDestinos (Latin America) and

Thomas Cook Thomas Cook (22 November 1808 – 18 July 1892) was the founder of the travel agency Thomas Cook & Son. He was born into a poor family in Derbyshire and left school at the age of ten to start work as a gardener's boy. He served an appren ...

brands. The company also holds Travel Agent Accreditation of the

International Air Transport Association The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...

(no. 63210803).

History

eSky Group was founded in Poland in 2004 and initially handled trips as part of the Work and Travel program. Since 2005, the company has been selling airline tickets through its online platform, with approximately 550 airlines included in its flight inventory under agreements. In 2009, an online hotel reservation system and travel insurance sales were launched, and in 2015, a car rental service. In June 2017, 6.3% of eSky Group shares were bought for PLN 15.6 million by Wirtualna Polska Group, which in March 2020 sold its eSky share package under the put option. In 2022, the company’s owner changed, with MCI Capital listed private equity took a 55% stake in eSky Group. The founders of eSky Group remained the controlling shareholders, holding a total of 45% of the company's shares, and the transaction amounted to approximately PLN 158 million and also included the recapitalization of the company. In 2023, due to a

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

transformation towards a package travel provider, the Polish OTA switched its focus from flights aggregation to combining flights and accommodations into city breaks and holidays packages. The same year, the company reported revenue of more than €800m – an increase of 42% year-on-year – with around 3.3m customers using its services. eSky Group's EBITDA amounted to €18.7m.

International operations

In 2023, eSky Group expanded its payment processing capabilities in Latin America and Africa through a signed partnership with dLocal, a cross-border payments platform. In April 2024, eSky Group established a partnership with

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish Low-cost carrier#Ultra low-cost carrier, ultra low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, includes subsidiaries Ryanair , Malta Air, Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz ...

, Europe's

low-cost carrier A low-cost carrier (LCC) or low-cost airline, also called a budget, or discount carrier or airline, is an airline that is operated with an emphasis on minimizing operating costs. It sacrifices certain traditional airline luxuries for cheaper fa ...

, becoming one of the first authorised online travel agencies to provide Ryanair flights, seats, and baggage. The deal guaranteed passengers that their contact and payment information is provided from the travel agent directly to the airline. After 12 months of cooperation between eSky Group and Ryanair the agreement was extended for a further two years. At the same time, the travel platform started offering package holidays and city breaks in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. This followed the passing the UK's Civil Aviation Authority approval, and the company covered its packages with the

Air Travel Organisers' Licensing Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (ATOL) is a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) scheme to give financial protection to people who have purchased package holidays and flights from a member tour operator. Corporate function The major ...

(ATOL) protection scheme (no. 12520). In September 2024, eSky Group acquired

from

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

’s Fosun Tourism Group, excluding its operations in China and India. The company expanded from an online flight aggregator to a provider of

package holidays A package tour, package vacation, or package holiday comprises transport and accommodation advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. Other services may be provided such as a rental car, activities or outings during the h ...

and city breaks in over 50 countries. On 6 February 2025, Andrzej Kozłowski, former vice-president and CFO, took over as CEO of eSky Group, replacing Łukasz Habaj, who stepped down for health reasons and remained on the Supervisory Board. Kozłowski has been with the company since 2015 and has been on its board of directors since 2016.

References

{{Reflist Online travel agencies Polish companies established in 2004 Companies based in Katowice Polish brands Privately held companies Tourism in Poland Internet properties established in 2004