Student travel gets an upgrade ??

Having grown up in northern KwaZulu-Natal, Ndabenhle Ntshangase and Lwanda Shabalala understand the power of the collective better than most. Communities club together to buy groceries in bulk at wholesalers to get better prices. Extended families get discounts at festivals through sheer weight of numbers. So, why shouldn’t the same principle apply to air travel?

And so, in a dorm room in Cape Town, the idea for AirStudent was born, with a lofty vision of enhancing the student travel experience. Today, by pulling students traveling between home and university into larger groups, AirStudent negotiates preferential deals with airlines to enable more affordable travel and a better overall experience.

It’s not just a win for cash-strapped students. It’s also a boon for airlines and travel agents, for whom distribution remains one of their biggest costs and headaches. And AirStudent has no intention of limiting themselves to domestic travel: ultimately, say Ntshangase and Shabalala, they aim to give students affordable access to a range of travel solutions, including accommodation and car hire.?

“We always knew we could get a lot of value from coordinating our travel. But when we sent out of few WhatsApps to gauge interest levels, we were blown away by the response. The fact is that the student travel experience has been really poor until now, and every problem we encounter is helping us develop a better end-to-end travel infrastructure,” says Ntshangase.?

The travel industry was massively impacted by Covid-19,?but AirStudent?sees nothing but opportunities. The start-up has already secured backing from ?E Squared Investments, which will help it build out its offering and deliver tailored travel packages, benefits and services to a segment that has long been ignored. AirStudent?and its partners are also looking to license their technology to other travel agents.

“Having worked with our technology partners and early adopters to develop some really interesting technology, our goal now is to scale the technology and hit the market hard. We are confident that we have a great product and are super excited at the opportunities that lie ahead,” says Shabalala.

Today, the company has a team of people with a passion for innovative technology and out-the-box solution development that are all working towards a common goal: providing sustainable travel solutions and enhancing the student travel experience. For thousands of South African students, it cannot come too soon.