Flight Centre buys US youth travel company StudentUniverse

Student and youth travel specialist StudentUniverse has been acquired by Australia based travel agency group Flight Centre. 

 

Boston-based StudentUniverse is one of the biggest players in the US youth travel market.

 

Atle Skalleberg, CEO of StudentUniverse and the management team will be retained to run the company reporting to Dean Smith, president of Flight Centre Travel Group Americas.

 

"The student and youth market is one of travel's fastest-growing sectors. It is critical to the entire industry and StudentUniverse has a proven track record in the space. They understand the demands of a young, tech-savvy user base and have incredible roots in technology," said Smith

 

Flight Centre operates more than 30 brands with a workforce of about 15,000 and has been expanded its reach in the youth and student travel market.

 

It owns Campus Travel and Student Flights, a retail agency network of more than 70 stores in Australasia, South Africa and the UK.

 

"It is an extremely exciting time for StudentUniverse. Working alongside a global team with a phenomenal track record, we will have the resources to build an even bigger and better service," Skalleberg said.