For the first time as Skyscanner CEO, Bryan Batista joined the industry's most influential leaders at Phocuswright 2026, exploring what’s next in the world of travel tech while sharing the latest product developments at Skyscanner.
Nearly one thousand travel tech leaders gathered at Phocuswright Global, with Bryan taking to the stage to share how our traveller-first innovations are helping build the trusted comparison tools travellers are asking for.
"With the rapid acceleration of AI, we have an opportunity to innovate by bringing greater personalisation to the forefront of the search experience.”
Bryan Batista, CEO, Skyscanner
Building traveller-first tools
Travel remains a high-value purchase, and we know travellers everywhere want more trusted tools for comparing trip options. Innovating with a traveller-first mindset is at the core of everything we do, from the smallest filter tweak to the biggest platform shift.
Bryan spoke about how we’re scaling that vision globally, with strong growth across flights, hotels and cars, as well as expanding into new verticals like trains and markets like India.
Integrating AI into everything
Skyscanner’s mission is to be the world’s number one travel ally. That means prioritising the traveller in everything, from the smallest filter tweak to the biggest platform shift. Bryan spoke about how we’re scaling that vision globally, with strong growth across flights, hotels and car hire.
We’re expanding into new markets and products, from hotels to trains, while flights continue to lead the way with 23% of flight sessions in the intermediaries space. In particular, our India office has been up and running for over a year, and we’re seeing strong results in Brazil and Canada too.
The AI runway
From product to productivity, Bryan highlighted how we’re integrating AI across the business, using it to make Skyscanner smarter – for travellers, partners and our people.
Traveller confidence in AI has increased from 47% to 54% since last year. It’s one reason why we're partnering with leading AI companies like OpenAI and Microsoft to build tools that make life easier and help inspire travellers.
What we brought to San Diego
- Innovation panel: ‘Leveling up – Tech and Product for the Next 20’: Bryan outlined how Skyscanner is combining traveller-first design, AI-driven innovation and strong global growth to shape the future of travel.
- Studio interview: In the PhocusWire Studio, Bryan discussed how Skyscanner is evolving metasearch beyond price comparison, using AI to help inspire travellers and further personalise their journeys with more confidence.
- Meeting global partners: On the ground, our commercial teams met with over 100 partners to grow existing relationships and develop new ones.
Behind all this? A company that’s growing with purpose. We’re investing in our teams, our products, and the markets where we know we can help travellers most. And we’re staying close to our partners too by sharing data insights, collaborating closely, and building solutions that serve real needs on both sides of the screen.
Want to hear it all in Bryan’s own words?
Watch the full interview here.
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