In future, Lufthansa will work with the Canadian startup from the field of artificial intelligence (KI) Hopper. This was confirmed by the company on Monday. Earlier, the “Wirtschaftswoche” reported on it. The airline wants to improve its dynamic pricing, they say.
Hopper was founded in 2007 and operates in North America one of the most popular apps for smartphone travel bookings, it said. The special feature: The AI predicts the price development for flights and hotels and can thus predict the traveler the supposedly optimal booking time. According to “Wirtschaftswoche”, the app was installed around 27 million times, putting it in sixth place in the US travel apps.
The AI technology will cost Lufthansa a high single-digit million, says the magazine. It is to be used for its own dynamic pricing, as well as for the Group’s sales management. With the data of the startup Lufthansa wants to be able to better predict customer behavior. On the other hand, the airline is Hopper’s entry into the European market and wants to continue to support the Canadian startup in its expansion, for example with language customization or support from payment providers that are not active in North America.
Hopper would have received US $ 100 million (€ 88 million) in a financing round in October 2018 for the internationalization of its own technology, bringing the company to a valuation of US $ 800 million (€ 703 million), Lufthansa said company announcement.
After Lufthansa has already invested in the cargo sector in the startups Fleet Logistics and Cargo.one, Hopper is the airline’s third partnership within one year. It is still unclear whether Lufthansa will also participate in the Canadian startup. In its communication, however, Lufthansa speaks of a “very profound partnership”.