History
eSky Group was founded in Poland in 2004 and initially handled trips as part of the Work and Travel program.[8] Since 2005, the company has been selling airline tickets through its online platform,[9] with approximately 550 airlines included in its flight inventory under agreements.[10] 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,[11] which in March 2020 sold its eSky share package under the put option.[12]
In 2022, the company’s owner changed,[13] with MCI Capital listed private equity took a 55% stake in eSky Group.[14][15]
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.[16]
In 2023, due to a business transformation towards a package travel provider,[17] the Polish OTA switched its focus from flights aggregation to combining flights and accommodations into city breaks and holidays packages.[18] 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.[19] eSky Group's EBITDA amounted to €18.7m.[3]
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.[20]
In April 2024, eSky Group established a partnership with Ryanair, Europe's low-cost carrier, becoming one of the first authorised online travel agencies to provide Ryanair flights, seats, and baggage.[21] The deal guaranteed passengers that their contact and payment information is provided from the travel agent directly to the airline.[22] After 12 months of cooperation between eSky Group and Ryanair the agreement was extended for a further two years.[23]
At the same time, the travel platform started offering package holidays and city breaks in the United Kingdom.[24]
