Kiwi.com

Kiwi.com (previously known as skypicker.com) is a Czech online travel agency founded by Oliver Dlouhý and Jozef Képesi in 2012. Kiwi.com provides a fare aggregator, metasearch engine and booking for airline tickets and ground transportation. Its ticket search features Kiwi.com’s "virtual interlining" concept – itineraries combined from over 750 carriers, including many that do not usually cooperate in online bookings. The booking service also features a service known as Kiwi.com Guarantee, which claims to protect customers from missed connections caused by delay, schedule change, or cancellation. In November 2019, the company announced its vision to become the world’s first Virtual Global Supercarrier (VGS). 
Background.
The online portal skypicker.com was created in 2011. The company was founded in Brno by Oliver Dlouhý and Jozef Képesi. In 2016 the company acquired the domain name Kiwi.com for $800,000 and rebranded itself as Kiwi.com. Jiří Hlavenka was one of its first investors. In 2017, Kiwi.com acquired a stake in Jaroslav Kokolus.
As of June 2019, Kiwi.com’s main shareholder is General Atlantic. Dlouhý and Képesi remain as major shareholders and continue to run the company. Other shareholders are Touzimsky Airlines and Luboš Charčenko.
Services.
In 2018 Kiwi.com launched NOMAD, a special multi-city travel search tool, and Tequila, a dedicated B2B platform.
Along with its headquarters in Brno, Kiwi.com has offices in Barcelona, Bratislava and Prague. The company has outsourced partners in Belgrade (Serbia), Bratislava (Slovakia), Dalian (China), Kyiv (Ukraine), Manila (the Philippines), Split and Zagreb (Croatia), Pune, Nashik and Indore (India), Tunisia, Miami (USA), Bangkok (Thailand), Beijing, Foshan (China), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Bogotá (Colombia).
The company is presently one of the five biggest online air ticket sellers in Europe, with an annual turnover of approximately 1.1 billion euros in 2018. The company booked around 12,000 traveler itineraries daily and employed 2000 workers during 2019.
Controversies.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Kiwi has been criticized for its refund policies and its customer service practices.
According to a company spokesman, Kiwi.com does not account for COVID-19 restrictions when creating travel itineraries. This has led to customers being charged thousands of dollars for flights that individuals could not legally take in light of COVID-19 travel restrictions. The company has put up barriers to refunds for individuals who have been issued legally impossible travel arrangements after booking with the site; one couple who had been issued impossible travel arrangements was only provided a refund after Kiwi.com was contacted by a New Zealand-based news website regarding their refund practices. 
Kiwi.com also offered refunds of only 10 euros to travelers who canceled previously booked trips that had cost travelers thousands of dollars, drawing criticism. Kiwi responded to criticism by blaming airlines for not processing refunds quickly enough. Ryanair, an Irish airline, has stated that Kiwi.com has refused to provide it with the credit card or other payment information of travelers that the airline would require in order to issue refunds directly to those whose flights have been canceled.
"The Observer" identified Kiwi.com as one of the companies responsible for the year's "worst customer service" after it began charging customers an additional fee for "standard" customer service, with customers who do not pay the fee having to wait longer for phone support and having no access to email support. The Better Business Bureau has given Kiwi.com an "F" rating. 