Cheapflights is gearing up for opportunities in Europe. EyeforTravel.com's Ritesh Gupta caught up with Hugo Burge, vice chairman and head of international, Cheapflights, for more on company's plans. (4/25/2006)

Europe is seeing the same brutal competition from low-cost airlines that was pioneered in the UK and we believe that this creates a significant role for Cheapflights in helping consumers to find the best deals in a confusing marketplace. The UK is one market but continental Europe is quite different and it is to that challenge that we are now turning,?says Burge.

The company is also set to announce senior additions to the US management team very shortly. More on the company plans:

Kindly share info on Cheapflights?expansion plans in Germany and Europe. Kindly expand on the same - dates, markets and why are you going ahead with chosen markets?

We are currently eyeing up our next international opportunities in Europe. We now have strong profitable and expanding businesses in the US and the UK (the only travel search company to be in this position) and now is the right time to make our next plans.

We will shortly be announcing several new senior management roles in the USA which will allow me to return to Europe and focus on this. With regards to specifics, we are not ready to release this information yet but there are logical parallels between the UK and German markets which we want to explore. Indeed many of our partners work in Germany as well as the UK. We are interested in a range of European countries; clearly Germany, France, Italy and Spain all offer significant potential but there are other countries we are reviewing too.

How do you assess Cheapflights?current status in Europe? Where do you think lies the opportunity or which areas do you think your company needs to focus in Europe in order to scale up the operations?

Our status in Europe is clear. We are the leading travel price-comparison website in Europe simply by virtue of our UK business and the only European website to successfully launch in the USA. Europe is a huge opportunity - I believe that this year there will be more online consumers in Europe than in the USA - that is a shift in the balance of opportunties. I am the first to recognise though that Europe is a place where you have to tread carefully and take significant heed of the local market. Europe is seeing the same brutal competition from low-cost airlines that was pioneered in the UK and we believe that this creates a significant role for Cheapflights in helping consumers to find the best deals in a confusing marketplace. The UK is one market but continental Europe is quite different and it is to that challenge that we are now turning.

Mr David Soskin has acknowledged that the company has been regularly approached by private equity firms. He says: There is so much more that we can do, we do not need to sell out? Can you expand on what else is your company looking at?

Cheapflights is a rare animal, not only in our trans-atlantic successes but also because we have grown out of cashflow, are profitable and have never sought financing. Right now we are focussed on creating value for our investment by building the business. We have no firm plans to realise any value for shareholders. New senior management across the company are working to take the company to the next level and that is the focus. The opportunities in this space are enormous - it is a matter of focus.

How is the relationship with travel partners including suppliers and travel intermediaries changing?

We have been fortunate in building up relationships that have now lasted nearly a decade. The travel industry as a whole was slow to seize upon the structural changes that the web offered but now we see enormous demand from the full cross-section of our partners including airlines, traditional travel agencies, Online Travel Agencies (OTA's) and Tour Operators. We are well placed to help all these partners but perhaps the biggest demand has recently been from the airlines and Tour Operators who are playing catch-up.

Are there any changes in management structure in the offing?

We are hoping to announce senior additions to the US management team very shortly, following the enormous success of Cheapflights.com in the US market and the employment of a Boston based Group Managing Director, Chris Cuddy. We will continue to add expertise into our growing international team to help support the next phase of our growth.