Airbnb reveals secret plan to launch an airline to help company become ‘one-stop shop for travel’
AIRBNB has revealed plans to launch an airline to help it transform into a “one-stop shop for travel”.
The company’s 36-year-old billionaire founder Brian Chesky made the announcement in a recent interview.
Mr Chesky told the Sunday Times: "We've seriously considered a lot of things around aviation and we've spent a lot of time exploring different concepts.
"We definitely want to make sure, though, that we can get into the end-to-end trip business."
Airbnb describes itself as a peer-to-peer online marketplace and homestay network that allows people to list or rent short-term lodgings in residential properties.
But it now looks set to expand and break away from its roots as a cheap alternative to a hotel.
Most read in news
Mr Chesky added: "Of all the big tech companies, the way Amazon has approached building their business to a one-stop shop for shopping is probably most similar to what we're trying to do.
"We're trying to be a one-stop shop for travel."
Airbnb was started when Chesky and his co-founder, Joe Gebbia, rented air mattresses in their San Francisco flat to three strangers.
More than 300million people have used it since, with the company celebrating its tenth birthday last week.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.