How JetBlue, Alaska Airlines, and Amadeus Are Approaching Startup Investment in 2023
Photo Credit: JetBlue, Alaska Air, and Amadeus all have their own venture capital arms. Among their interests in 2023 will be new tech, like improving apps. Getty Images / Marko Geber
Skift Take
Everyone in the travel industry, especially airlines, is talking about sustainability right now. But investments are also being made in innovations that could form the industry decades from now.
Executives from the venture capital arms of three large travel companies — JetBlue, Alaska Airlines, and Amadeus — each shared details with Skift about what they are focused on in 2023 and going forward.
Each of them have a strong interest in sustainability, consistent with the rest of the industry. All three companies recently invested in the same startup, Volantio, which is an optimization software platform that helps airlines more efficiently fill open seats, and it also reports on carbon emissions on a per seat basis.
But, sustainability is not all they’re looking at.
Global distribution system companies and airlines are often criticized for using old technology, but each of these companies are, on the contrary, making investments that look toward the future.
For companies in any industry that have the resources for innovation, they’ll often create a venture capital arm to take equity stakes in startups doing that wor
