IAG's Hangar 51 Accelerator 2024 Takes Off with New Cohort of Startups Focused on Sustainability, Customer Experience, and Operational Efficiency

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Nov 14, 2024, 03:00 ET

VIENNA, Nov. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- International Airlines Group (IAG) announced the launch of its eighth Hangar 51 Accelerator program, welcoming a new cohort of startups poised to revolutionize the aviation industry. Plug and Play, a global innovation platform connecting startups and corporations is proud to support this year's program as the innovation partner of IAG.

The selected startups will tackle some of the industry's biggest challenges across four core areas:

Sustainability: Exploring new technologies that can help decarbonize aviation.
Customer Experience: Enhancing the passenger journey through innovative products and services.
Operational Efficiency: Testing new solutions to improve efficiency and performance.
Airports: Optimizing turnaround management and ground operations.

Over twelve weeks, the startups will work closely with IAG experts to test and refine their solutions in a real-world environment. The culmination of the Hangar 51 Accelerator 2024 will be a Demo Day held on November 27 at IAG's Headquarters in London. This event will provide a platform for the startups to present their projects to key stakeholders across IAG and its operating companies: Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, LEVEL, Vueling, IAG Loyalty and IAG Cargo. This event will foster networking, knowledge exchange, and collaboration, enabling IAG to showcase the potential of these solutions across the group.

Plug and Play provided support to IAG with key program activities, including global scouting, startup assessment, and event management. Beyond the program itself, Plug and Play has connected IAG to its wider partner ecosystem, offering speaking and participation opportunities at events across Europe. This creates opportunities to connect with other industry leaders to exchange best practices and identify potential synergies.

"We're truly excited to partner with one of the world's largest airline groups to drive impactful improvements in airline operations and sustainability. Working with IAG is a unique highlight within our global ecosystem, showing how open innovation across diverse companies/carriers, regions, and approaches can make a real difference for the entire industry. In aviation, collaboration is key, and we're proud to work together in tackling challenges like CO2 emissions and climate impact. The best startups have made it through our selection process and are now collaborating with various airlines and business units to test their solutions. I'm personally looking forward to Demo Day to see the impact they've made," said Nik Munaretto, Director of Plug and Play Vienna.

Congratulations and welcome to the new Hangar 51 Accelerator 2024 Cohort:

For more information about Plug and Play, please visit https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com.

About Plug and Play

Plug and Play is the leading innovation platform connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we're present in 60+ locations across 5 continents. We offer corporate innovation programs and help our corporate partners in every stage of their innovation journey, from education to execution. We also organize startup acceleration programs and have built an in-house VC to drive innovation across multiple industries where we've invested in hundreds of successful companies including Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal, and Rappi. For more information, visit https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/

About IAG

International Airlines Group (IAG) is one of the world's largest airline groups with 585 aircrafts flying to over 250 destinations and carrying more than 115 million passengers in 2023. The Group was created in 2011 and includes the airlines British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling and LEVEL, and IAG Loyalty and IAG Cargo. It is a Spanish-registered company with its corporate office in London, United Kingdom. Its shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and on the Spanish stock markets. IAG's vision is to be the leading airline group in sustainability. The group is proud to have been listed on the Carbon Disclosure Project's A List for its commitment to sustainability and action on climate change.

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SOURCE Plug and Play