Fairlyne bags $3M to bring resale to travel

Funds will be used to further develop the platform, expedite the deployment and to expand to new markets, including the US

Resale-as-a-Service platform for the travel industry, Fairlyne, has raised $3 million in its first seed round led by Speedinvest.

While Speedinvest led the round, it also included participation from Evolem, Kima Ventures and FJ Lab as well as several angel investors. 

Fairlyne, the first-of-its-kind company, looks to “disrupt” travel distribution by turning non-refundable tickets into resalable fares. 

Travel operators have been unable to run a profitable resale experience for their non-refundable customers, even though other bookable services offer resale with great success including sport events, concerts, etc.

The start-up’s mission is to allow travel brands to generate incremental revenue and deliver a seamless resale experience to their customers, through their white label product.

The funds will be used to further develop the platform, expedite the deployment of Fairlyne with enterprise clients across the travel industry and to expand to new markets, including the US.

Gilles de Richemond, co-founder and CEO of Fairlyne, said: “With Michael and Morgan, we started thinking about new approaches to distribution while working together at Accor. 

“We realised that travel customers were willing to resale their bookings and meanwhile no-shows represent a lucrative opportunity for travel operators – if they could offer customers who couldn’t make it the chance to resell in advance. 

“So, we built a platform, which can be integrated into any operators’ consumer-facing channels providing customers with a seamless resale experience. The incremental revenue from no-shows can be significant.”

Michael d’Eboli, co-founder and CPTO, said: “Almost every sector from clothing to cars, to jewellery, has formalised ways for brands to facilitate customers reselling their products. 

“The main reason that travel hasn’t been part of this trend, and why travel operators are missing out, is that the technology hasn’t been there for something which can be complicated. 

“Fairlyne is the turnkey solution that addresses this gap and opens incremental revenue streams for our travel partners.”

Jeroen Arts, partner at Speedinvest, said: “Fairlyne is revolutionising the travel industry by delivering a 10x improvement in customer experience, empowering travellers to effortlessly resell their non-flex tickets. 

“With their innovative solution, they are providing unparalleled value to both travel operators and customers, creating a win-win situation for all. 

“We are thrilled to support the exceptional team at Fairlyne, led by Gilles, Michael, and Morgan. We believe they are poised to seize the enormous opportunity presented by the re-awakened global travel market."

In 2022, Fairlyne made waves by partnering with OUIGO, the French low-cost train operator under SNCF ownership. 

Off the back of the partnership, OUIGO then introduced the service OUIGOSWAP, allowing over 100% of their 25 million of passengers per year to resell their non-flexible bookings directly through OUIGO's website and app. 

This initiative proved “highly successful” having generated significant incremental EBIT for the operator. 

The new funding follows on from last month, when Fairlyne came first out of 300 start-ups in the Royal Air Maroc (RAM) Open Innovation challenge. 

In the coming months, RAM will implement Fairlyne’s Resale-as-a-Service platform to allow their non-refundable customers to release their booking on RAM’s direct channels and avoid losing 100% of their money in case of no-shows.