Skyscanner is a global travel meta-search company, helping more than 150 million users each month compare flights, hotels, car hire, and experiences in one place. As the business expanded beyond flights into new services and markets worldwide, Skyscanner turned to Workday to create a scalable, unified foundation for finance and HR.
What began as a flight comparison site has evolved into a multi-vertical, global platform, with the majority of the business now operating outside the UK. As Laurence Bourdon-Tracol, Chief Financial Officer at Skyscanner, explains, “We started with flights—now we help travellers find hotels and cars globally.”
At the heart of that evolution is a clear purpose. “Our mission is to delight all travellers and open up the world for them,” says Bourdon-Tracol—a mission that shapes not only Skyscanner’s product experience, but also how the company operates behind the scenes.
When growth demanded stronger foundations.
As Skyscanner scaled internationally, the systems supporting finance and HR struggled to keep pace. Callum McMahon, Finance Transformation Lead at Skyscanner, recalls that “before Workday, our systems were fragmented—we were firefighting, rather than future-looking.” Financial close cycles were lengthy, planning was slow, and teams lacked a single, trusted view of the business.
Leadership recognised that continued growth would depend on simplifying this complexity and establishing a stronger operational foundation.
One platform to simplify and scale.
Skyscanner chose Workday to bring HR and finance together on a single, cloud-based platform. The goal was to standardize processes, improve access to data, and create one source of truth that could scale globally.
That shift delivered immediate impact. “Workday has created one source of truth—our close is faster, planning cycles shorter,” says Bourdon-Tracol, highlighting how improved visibility has increased confidence in decision-making across the organization.
From reactive reporting to real-time insight.
With Workday in place, Skyscanner transformed its finance operations. Management accounts that once took up to ten days are now delivered in roughly half the time.
As McMahon explains, “Our management accounts are now ready in half the time, in five days instead of ten.” That acceleration has shifted finance from reactive reporting to forward-looking insight, enabling teams to focus on planning, scenario analysis, and growth decisions.
The result is a finance function that plays a more strategic role—supporting leaders with timely, actionable insight rather than historical data alone.
Our management accounts are now ready in half the time, in five days instead of ten.
Finance Transformation Lead, Skyscanner
Simplifying work across the organization.
With stronger foundations in place, Skyscanner has been able to scale globally with confidence. Workday now underpins finance and HR across regions, supporting expansion into new markets without adding operational burden.
“Workday has been the foundation to scale our global operations efficiently,” says Bourdon-Tracol. Since going live, that foundation has enabled tangible growth.
The journey continues.
Today, Workday provides Skyscanner with the stability, insight, and flexibility needed to support continued growth—while staying true to its mission of helping travellers explore the world with confidence.
With a single platform across finance and HR, Skyscanner is well positioned for its next phase: expanding into new markets, adopting new technologies, and continuing to evolve how it supports travellers globally.