Aviation company Skymetrix has acquired Irish software company Rainmaker Business Technologies for an undisclosed sum, as it seeks to create a one-stop shop for airline cost efficiency.
Dublin-based Rainmaker, which counts JetBlue, UPS and Alaska Airlines among its customers, offers specialist aviation crew pay and cost management software that helps airlines to understand and manage crew costs.
Skymetrix currently provides software that centralises aviation fuel and operational flight data, giving an accurate picture of direct flight costs including fuel demand, consumption and spend. Adding Rainmaker’s capabilities to its system will provide a unified suite of solutions from one vendor, covering all big flight-related costs.
Skymetrix, which serves more than 100 airlines, including Ryanair, Lufthansa and Emirates, manages more than $76 billion
(€71 billion) of flight charges and 30 per cent of commercial jet fuel consumption annually.
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“The airline business is undergoing an exciting transition. As airlines rebuild from the pandemic, they are looking to adopt new innovative technologies and ways of working. It’s vital for airlines to progressively manage down their costs and risk as they undergo this shift,” said Michael Scheidler, chief executive of Skymetrix.
“By combining Skymetrix – with Rainmaker’s ‘all things crew’ offering, we can now provide airlines with a clear line of sight of their full operations for the first time – enabling them to cut costs and create the space for sustainable growth.”
Funding for the acquisition is led by UK-based private equity firm Ventiga Capital Partners.
“It makes perfect sense to combine our expertise on crew life cycle management with Skymetrix; a company that shares our vision to transform airline operations with innovative technology,” said chief executive of Rainmaker, Brendan Fuller. “Our combined offering simplifies airline operations, to unlock greater productivity and efficiency gains for our customers.”
