Airlines Reporting Corp. invests in blockchain startup Blockskye’s Series A round

Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC), a provider of ticket transaction settlement services, has made an investment in Blockskye’s Series A round of financing. The details of the investment have not been disclosed.

Founded in 1984, ARC is a leading air travel distribution and intelligence firm. It settled $94.8 billion in ticket transactions in 2018 between airlines and travel agencies, representing more than 295 million passenger trips.

The investment in Blockskye marks ARC’s first significant round of venture capital financing and follows the successful completion of a joint proof-of-concept in January that aimed to determine the viability of using blockchain technology in facilitating reporting and settlement of United Airlines tickets.

“Our recent collaboration with Blockskye, a major U.S. airline, and one of their largest corporate accounts makes us optimistic that there are near-term use cases for blockchain that drive strategic benefits and pull these already close relationships even closer,” ARC President and CEO Mike Premo said.

“We’re delighted to make ARC’s first ever outside investment in Blockskye to support the development of this forward-thinking company and assure customers that the benefits of the industry ecosystem that ARC provides will be easily accessible even as new platforms like blockchain are deployed.”

Blockskye is a travel industry-focused blockchain solution developer. It is a founding travel member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA).

Brook Armstrong, Blockskye CEO and Co-Founder, said that blockchain technology presents a “real opportunity” to address several issues prevalent in the travel industry.

“Blockskye is turning to ARC to provide marketplace leadership, carrier neutrality and trusted governance for new distribution strategies among ARC’s airline members and customers,” said Jerry Behrens, Blockskye’s chief relationship officer and co-founder.