Airbnb’s billionaire founder plots to launch an AIRLINE

  • Brian Chesky, 36, is the founder of Airbnb and is now worth £2.7bn 
  • He says flights are a logical next step for the online holiday rental business
  • Airbnb is now one of the world’s biggest privately owned tech firms 

The founder of Airbnb is plotting to launch an airline in a bid to dominate the entire holiday market.

Brian Chesky, 36, said flights are a logical next step for the online holiday rental business, which has transformed tourism in the decade since it launched.

He said: ‘We’ve seriously considered a lot of things around aviation and we’ve spent a lot of time exploring different concepts.

Brian Chesky, pictured with his artist girlfriend Elissa Patel, is now worth £2.7billion

‘We definitely want to make sure, though, that we can get into the end-to-end trip business.’

Airbnb is now one of the world’s biggest privately owned tech firms, with a value of about £22billion – well over twice the size of the UK’s largest listed hotel firm, Intercontinental.

AIRBNB’S RISE TO SUCCESS 

Airbnb started a decade ago with airbed rentals

Airbnb started a decade ago with airbed rentals

  • Airbnb started a decade ago with airbed rentals in a San Francisco flat
  • Founder Brian Chesky (pictured with girlfriend Elissa Patel, an artist) is now worth £2.7billion
  • The company lists 4.5million properties in 192 countries
  • Its most expensive holiday lets have included a Loire Valley chateau for £6,899 a night
  • More than 300million people have used the service since 2008 – almost one a second



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