IAG invites startups to showcase air travel innovations

International Airlines Group (IAG) is inviting startups to demonstrate how their products and innovations can transform the travel industry during a 10-week accelerator program. IAG will ask about 40 companies to pitch their concepts for the latest round of the group’s Hangar 51 innovation program. Successful applicants will “be embedded in the heart of the business, working side by side with an international team of mentors and experts from across the group,” IAG said, adding that Hangar 51 has seen applications from more than 1,200 startups worldwide since its 2016 launch. The selected startups will work with teams at the group’s IAG Cargo, Iberia and Vueling airlines. Based in Spain for the second time, the program will allow the companies to develop and test their products on a global scale, IAG said. Applicants have until Aug. 2 to submit their proposals in the categories of airport operations and logistics, including smart technologies and robotics; the future of customer interaction, including wearable devices and artificial intelligence; disruption management; future cargo logistics; sustainability; new products and services, including innovative payment methods; and a wildcard category that can encompass any disruptive idea that has the potential to reshape the travel industry. At the end of the 10-week period, the startups will demonstrate their innovations to group senior managers. <br/>