Active engagement with startups is a viable path forward for airlines to foster innovation.

When we speak of engagement, we’re not talking about the startup meetups and non-sense pitch competitions that people brag about on LinkedIn.

Rather, we are referring to actual startup investments which can open up a range of growth bets that could transform the way airlines transport passengers from A to B and service them along the door-to-door traveler journey, in turn bettering customer experiences and offering up new revenue opportunities.

Therefore, we have been tracking startups investments by airlines rigorously since 2017.

Find below the latest update on the most active airline investors (based on the size of their startup portfolio) and scroll further down to better understand where the leading startup-oriented airlines have been placing their innovation bets.

# AirlinePortfolio (#)Startups
1JetBlue33Frontdesk, Lacuna, Transparent, Universal Hydrogen, 3victors, i6 Group, Travelstride, SAM Email, Bizly, Node, Volantio, Lumo, Joby Aviation, Redeam, Tomorrow.io, FLYR Labs, Filament, Betterez, Claire, Mozio, Zunum Aero, CoinFlip, Recharge Labs, JSX, Gladly, Skyhour, Unicobag, Slice Labs, Shape Security, Miles, Beacon AI, NLX , TurnKey
2KLM*19RazorSecure, Grasp Innovations, Aiir Innovations, Robin, Ampyx Power, C Teleport, Synple, Undagrid, We4Sea, Mobian, ViriCiti, Plotwise, SupplyStack, Multi Pilot Simulations, Versa, MI Airline, Eye On Air, Snocom, Casper
3Qantas Airways15TripADeal, Mad Paws, Volantio, Meeco, Leezair, Data Republic, Landmarks ID, Travelshoot, Pawshake, easyshare, LoanDolphin, Aeroster, Coverhero, Birch, Boozebud
4United Airlines12Cemvita Factory, Alder Fuels, Heart Aerospace, Journera, GetThere (GTHR), Fulcrum Bioenergy, BCKSTGR, Clear Secure, 1PointFive, Archer Aviation, Avolar, ZeroAvia
5AirAsia11Amity, RedTix, Vidi, RedBox Logistics, Teleport Commerce, Ourshop, ROKKI, travel360, BigPay, BIG Loyalty, Big Data for Humans
6IAG11i6 Group, LanzaJet, ZeroAvia, Assaia, deepair/Cirravia, Volantio, Zamna, Esplorio, Importwise, Monese, Freightos
7El Al Airlines9shopnfly, FarePlace, Claire, NSLComm, Routier, AeroCRS, Quicklizard, Splitty Travel, SAM Email
8easyJet**8LuckyTrip, WeSki, Dohop, Flio, car&away, Flightsayer (Lumo), FetchyFox, TrustedHousesitters
9UPS Cargo Aviation
8Fleet Logistics, Sudu, Optoro, Ally Commerce, Deliv, eHatchery, Inxeption, ShopRunner
10All Nippon Airways7Astroscale, Avatar-in, FiNC, Huber, PD Aerospace, Star Flyer, LanzaTech

* KLM investments include those through the Mainport Innovation Funds I & II
** easyJet investments include startups they work with through Founders Factory

Disclaimer: Our ranking is purely based on investments in startups and does not include joint ventures, private equity deals, or traditional M&A activity.

If you’re an investor or industry expert and are aware of an airline startup investment that we missed, please get in touch with us via newsletter@tnmt.com

The TNMT Airline Investment Dashboard

For a better understanding of which types of startups attract most of the interest of leading carriers, check out our Airline Investment Dashboard.


This content is for informational purposes only and should not be used as investment advice.

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