Ben Sibbald

Ben Sibbald didn't plan to revolutionise airline payments when he moved from London to Germany in the run-up to Brexit. The Head of Payments at Hahnair, the leading global provider of airline distribution solutions, made the leap partly out of circumstance and partly out of ambition. His wife had job offers in both Cambridge and Germany, and Sibbald, who had always wanted to explore life overseas, was keen to try life abroad before potential doors closed.

Now, having been happily settled in a village south of Frankfurt for the best part of a decade, Sibbald has spent the past year transforming how one of the world's most extensive airline networks handles payments. His journey into finance began, as he puts it, "by luck" – starting in an outbound call centre before moving through retail banking at HSBC, then corporate banking, and finally payments with CashFlows. That diverse background now  is the foundation of his approach to one of the industry's most complex challenges.

German travel giant Hahnair operates at a scale that few companies can match. The distribution provider connects more than 400 airlines with over 100,000 travel agencies across 190 markets worldwide. For context, that means the company facilitates ticket sales in virtually every corner of the globe, from major metropolitan centres to emerging markets. The complexity of managing payment acceptance across such a vast network requires both technological sophistication and deep regional expertise. "We are the bridge between customers and travel companies, helping them to complete the transaction," he says about his team’s role. "If the transaction's not completed, you don't get the service." 

His team constantly evaluates payment methods, determining which are essential, desirable, or could add marketing value. They research options, consult with external partners, implement new payment methods and manage them throughout their lifecycle.

The company's core business model addresses a quite fundamental challenge in the airline industry. Airlines have their core markets and established customer bases, but expanding globally presents logistical and technical hurdles that many carriers struggle with. Hahnair’s services are invaluable here, providing distribution solutions that make airline tickets available through a vast network of travel agents. On the other side, travel agents gain access to hundreds of airlines they might not otherwise be able to offer their customers.

"We're enabling those travel agents to sell more airlines, and at the same time give those airlines access to more customers ," Ben explains. This two-sided marketplace approach has made the company, which was founded in 1999, an invaluable piece of the global travel puzzle. The firm has been quietly revolutionising airline distribution for more than a quarter of a century now, and it does not intend to sit still any time soon.

The company underwent a major rebranding to coincide with its 25th anniversary in 2024, in terms of branding, image and technology. It has also launched Distriply, a new brand focused on New Distribution Capabilities (NDC), which represents the airline industry's shift toward more modern, flexible distribution channels. But technology alone doesn't explain the company's success. Ben emphasises that Hahnair's people set it apart from competitors, with account managers who possess deep regional knowledge and maintain strong relationships with partners. “You don’t buy from businesses, you buy from people,” he says.

Currently, Ben and his team remain focused on enabling travel agent partners to do their jobs as effectively as possible. Partnerships continue to be absolutely essential to everything Hahnair does, with airline partnerships, travel agent partnerships and payment provider partnerships all important. These partnerships create feedback loops that drive optimisation. They also drive a healthier industry. "We're always looking at providing the right solutions at the right time, increasing the size of the entire pie, rather than taking a bigger slice," Ben reflects.