How this small German airline is a major player in global distribution

As its name indicates, Germany-based Hahn Air is indeed an airline, with two Cessna business jets offering executive charter service as well as scheduled flights between Düsseldorf and Palma de Mallorca.

But in 1999, five years after its founding, Hahn Air expanded beyond flight services to offer ticketing solutions to other airlines.

Now, nearly 25 years later, the company’s main business has nothing to do with its two Cessna jets. Instead Hahn Air has become a leader in global airline ticketing and distribution, interlining flights from more than 365 partner airlines and enabling more than 100,000 travel agencies in 190 markets worldwide to sell those tickets.

Kirsten Rehmann became CEO of Hahn Air in January 2022. 

In an interview in the PhocusWire studio at Phocuswright Europe, Rehmann explained more about the company’s distribution services, which serve airlines of all sizes, from Etihad to Air Botswana.

“Airlines can open more markets, make more revenue, and travel agents on the other side they can get access to content, to airlines they wouldn’t otherwise have,” Rehmann said.

In recent years, Hahn Air has also become a leader in exploring new technologies to move the travel industry forward.

In early June the company announced the creation of a research and development initiative, “Innovation at Hahn Air,” with an invitation to industry leaders and startups to collaborate with it to explore new solutions. 

“We are bringing our knowledge to the table and inviting startups or industry players to work with us on proofs of concept, on ideas that they bring, and really looking at new solutions that can be for the benefit of the travel industry,” she said.

The company already has several research and development efforts underway, including a blockchain project with Chain4Travel and an exploration of NFTs for airline distribution in partnership with TravelX, a PhocusWire Hot 25 Travel Startup for 2023.

Watch Rehmann’s full interview below.