Back in 2008, our founder Lars Kristensson started working as a software architect in flight search, and quickly grew frustrated. He’d come from the game industry, where everything revolves around the user experience, and what he saw in travel search felt broken.
None of the platforms reflected how people actually plan trips. Most travellers don’t start with fixed dates or a single destination; they start with a concept, a window of time, and a wish to explore different options. But the tools out there weren’t built for that.
He wanted to solve this, but everyone said it couldn’t be done. That the industry systems weren’t supporting it. But Lars couldn’t let it go.
So, he built something entirely new: an AI-powered search engine that allowed people to search with full flexibility, based preferences instead of rigid criteria. It was the first of its kind.
In 2014, Lars met Anton Tyulenev, a brilliant UX designer who’d been wrestling with the same challenges from a design perspective. They joined forces and in 2015, founded Avionero, with a bold goal:
To build the best flight search site on the planet.
They launched their public beta in early 2018, and by December 2019, Avionero 1.0 was live. Then… the world shut down.
In April 2020, air travel was down by 97%. While Avionero was already out of funding. It turned into years of struggle.
After having survived the pandemic, and just as recovery began, war in Ukraine forced another wave of upheaval. At that time, most of Avionero’s development team was based in Russia. Causing another major company crisis.
After years of delays, setbacks, and challenges, Lars was in late 2024 laying in a hotel bed, exhausted, ill, but not yet ready to quit, and made a decision;
If this journey was going to continue, it needed to mean more.
He’d been a lifelong supporter of Amnesty International. He’d left the gaming industry for ethical reasons. And then he declared:
From now on, Avionero will donate 10% of all revenue to causes our travellers care about.
Not profits. Not leftovers. Ten percent of all revenue on every booking.
And the users would be allowed to choose where it goes, from protecting human rights to fighting hunger, building homes, or saving wildlife.
We still believe in building the smartest flight search out there. But now, we’re doing it not just with smart but also heart.
And if Avionero ever does go truly big, Lars will devote the rest of his life to philanthropy. That was always his dream. And now, it’s part of the plan.