UBM Aviation acquires The Route Development Group

UBM Aviation has today announced that it has acquired The Route Development Group Limited (RDG). The combination of RDG’s highly respected events and consultancy business with our OAG data and schedules business will bring great benefits to our customers in the airline and airport communities.

RDG comprises four main business areas:

Routes – The World Route Development Forum – is widely considered the industry-leading, global networking event for providing airlines, airports, suppliers and industry observers the opportunity to meet to develop new aviation routes worldwide, as well as manage existing networks.

The regional Routes series of events: Routes Europe, Routes Americas, Routes Asia, Routes Africa and Routes CIS. All events serve the needs of route developers and network planners in their specific local regions.

Airport Strategy & Marketing Ltd. (ASM), a highly-regarded aviation route consulting services business serving the global airport customer community.

Routesonline.com, an online portal bringing together airports and airlines to share information and intelligence such as facilities, traffic statistics, air services, demographics and supporting resources, as well as through Route Exchange a platform for airports to bid directly for airline capacity.

This transaction will enable UBM Aviation to provide its customers with a broader and deeper set of product offerings across data, analytics, events and consultancy to help our airline and airport customers manage their schedules operations and route networks to optimum efficiency and effectiveness.

“We are delighted to have acquired this fantastic business, which includes a genuinely unique mix of assets that will enhance how we serve the airline and airport markets. I am also pleased to welcome their solid base of talented aviation industry experts. Their skills will greatly complement the UBM Aviation team,” said Peter von Moltke, Chief Executive Officer, UBM Aviation. “RDG’s collective assets, merged with our own, will strengthen our position as the leading global provider of aviation intelligence, and events, and create a solid foundation for our global aviation consulting business, all contributing to the company’s future growth. We look forward to growing ASM and the Routes events further by utilizing the global UBM resources.”

“I am extremely satisfied to have sold RDG to an industry leader such as UBM Aviation. Over the past 17 years, ASM and Routes have changed the way the world’s airlines and airports do business and pioneered a whole new approach to air service development. With the help of dedicated teams, we developed ASM into the world’s leading aviation route development consultancy and the award-winning Routes into the industry’s largest networking forum. I am proud to say that RDG has become the leading global solutions provider in the route development industry. Looking ahead, there is a lot of scope for both ASM and Routes to further flourish, and I am certain that UBM Aviation with its strong market position is the ideal company to lead RDG into a continuously successful future,” said Mike Howarth, Group CEO, RDG.

A press release containing financial information was released today by UBM, to view the release, go to www.ubm.com.