More than two decades after its last flight touched down, iconic Aussie airline Ansett is back – not in the skies, but online, as a fully AI-powered travel agency.
Yep.
Once the second-largest airline in the country, Ansett was a household name before it went belly-up in 2001, leaving behind a 65-year legacy and some 16,000 job losses. It had been a major sponsor of the AFL and even the 2000 Sydney Olympics before its collapse.
But now, after noticing the Ansett trademark had quietly lapsed, Melbourne tech entrepreneur Constantine Frantzeskos swooped in, registering the name and launching The Ansett Travel Platform, which he’s calling Australia’s first truly AI-run travel agency.
“We’re not trading on nostalgia,” the website claims. “We’re reviving a trusted name and giving it a new identity: intelligent, intuitive, and value-driven.”
Through a tech integration with TRAVLR (Victoria’s Startup of the Year), the new-look Ansett promises to be like “the Costco of travel”, using AI to score deals on everything from hotels and flights to full-blown holiday packages.
The platform’s AI brainpower taps into large language models, recommendation systems and predictive pricing engines to deliver a super-personalised booking experience.
