Wings Travel Management, the global specialist TMC for companies in the oil and gas and marine industries, is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
Wings has carved a niche in the market over the last 25 years for managing complex travel and support services for customers globally, in particular to developing markets and high risk destinations. The TMC’s global reach has grown from one office and a handful of staff in Johannesburg to span North America, South America, UK/Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia where the company currently has 14 wholly owned and managed regional operations. Today Wings Travel Management employs almost 400 people around the world and has a global turnover of GBP £250M.
Wings’ story began in 1992 when CEO and founder, Tony Sofianos, established a travel agency in Johannesburg to serve the local leisure market. But he soon discovered a passion for the oil and gas sector and spotted a gap for providing niche business travel services. By 1996, Sofianos was winning business from large multinational oil and gas companies, initially in West Africa before setting his sights on the rest of the globe. At this point he recognised that, in order to serve the oil and gas industry effectively, a global presence for Wings was a prerequisite.
In 1998 Wings expanded in South Africa with a new operation in Cape Town. Further growth in South Africa came in 2003 with the launch of an operation in Durban to better serve the marine industry, after Wings acquired Global Marine Travel. International expansion began in 2002 when Wings established a London operation. Next came the USA, with the acquisition of marine specialist, Scandic World Travel, in Houston, Texas in 2006. An operation was launched in Aberdeen in 2008 and two years later Wings established a Middle East regional hub in Dubai, as well as an operation in Luanda, Angola.
Brazil followed in 2013, after Wings acquired V7 Viagens with operations in Rio de Janeiro and Macaé. Further expansion followed in 2014 with the opening of a new operation in Lagos, Nigeria. In 2016 Wings acquired Travelnet Stavanger in Norway and the TMC commenced doing business in Saudi Arabia. That year, Wings also acquired London-based Grosvenor Travel Management, giving the TMC a consolidated UK annual turnover close to GBP £100M. This takeover significantly strengthened Wings’ UK presence ready for the transition of the TMC’s global headquarters to London. In 2017 Wings will officially commence operations in Singapore.
From the outset, Wings’ commitment to travel risk management and traveller safety support has been at the core of the TMC’s operations due to the nature of its clients’ complex and often hazardous travel needs. This approach was the primary driver behind Wings’ business model of wholly owned and controlled global operations.
Tony Sofianos CEO Wings Travel Management explains: “My vision was to adopt a business model where we own and control all of our operations around the globe. This is a distinct point of difference to our competitors and it would be very difficult, if not impossible for another TMC to replicate in a reasonable timeframe. Most other multi-national TMCs use partner networks, particularly in markets like Angola, Brazil and Saudi Arabia. Because we own and manage all our offices, our technology operates on a single global platform, meaning clients receive the same consistent high-touch service levels. This is critical in times of emergency as Wings’ staff can access travel reservations on demand to provide assistance immediately 24/7, regardless of where or when the reservation was made.
“We are also experts at providing support services to travellers on the ground in high risk countries, arranging private transfers and security,” adds Sofianos. “For example, we are contracting helicopter operators in Nigeria to get travellers in and out of the country while Abuja airport is closed.
“Traveller safety and risk management have moved even further to the top of every company’s agenda, not just the energy sector, as terrorist attacks have become more indiscriminate. Even first-world cities like London, Brussels, Paris and Berlin are now potential high risk destinations,” says Sofianos. “This means that, 25 years on, Wings’ expertise and proprietary infrastructure are even more relevant today than ever before and hugely beneficial to our clients.”
To find out more, visit www.wings.travel