Skyscanner

Skyscanner is one of the most recognised names in online travel — a global metasearch engine where travellers compare prices on flights, hotels and car hire across airlines, agencies and rental brands. With more than 160 million monthly users across 180 countries and 52 domains, and a network of 1,200+ supply partners, it is a high-intent, trusted brand that converts. For publishers in the travel space, the Skyscanner affiliate programme is a way to earn commission on the traffic you already send toward trip planning.

About Skyscanner

Founded in 2002, Skyscanner operates a travel marketplace that searches roughly 10 billion prices every day. Rather than selling tickets directly, it connects travellers with airlines, online travel agencies (OTAs), hotels and car rental providers, earning a commission when bookings are completed. The company positions itself as a strategic partner across the travel industry, offering distribution, advertising, travel-data insights and API products alongside its consumer-facing search tools.

For affiliates, the key point is scale and trust: Skyscanner is a loved, globally established brand, which typically means better conversion on referred traffic than lesser-known travel sites.

How the Skyscanner affiliate programme works

The programme is managed through Impact.com, the partnership platform where you apply, link your content and access reporting. Once approved, you can monetise your audience with three tools:

• Widgets — searchable flight, hotel and car hire widgets embedded on your site
• Banners — display banners that send visitors to Skyscanner to search
• Text links — pre-built or custom links pointing to Skyscanner search

Commission is flexible and performance-based: Skyscanner describes a "flexible rate structure based on performance," meaning the more bookings your traffic generates, the more you earn. You are paid a percentage of the commission Skyscanner itself receives from the flight, OTA, hotel or car rental supply partner when your referral books. Because it is a share of a variable partner commission, Skyscanner does not publish a single fixed headline rate on its programme page.

A notable strength is the 30-day referral window: Skyscanner stores referral data for 30 days, so you can still be credited even if the traveller doesn't book immediately. Payouts and payment terms are handled through Impact.com. (Some third-party directories cite specific rates and PayPal monthly payouts, but Skyscanner's own materials do not confirm those figures, so treat them cautiously.)

To be accepted, your site must meet the eligibility criteria: a complete website with working links, HTTPS enabled, more than 5,000 unique visitors per month, up-to-date travel content, and good user experience. The site must not book tickets on behalf of customers. Every application is reviewed manually on Impact.com.

Who should promote Skyscanner

Skyscanner explicitly welcomes:

• Travel websites and blogs
• Forums and content platforms
• Social media groups
• Deals and cashback websites

If you run a travel content site with steady traffic, Skyscanner's tools fit naturally into destination guides, "how to find cheap flights" articles, and trip-planning content. Importantly, influencers on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and blogs are steered toward the separate Skyscanner Creator Programme rather than the affiliate programme.

Skyscanner does not work with coupon, discount, network, subnetwork, market performance agencies or technology partners in the affiliate programme, and it prohibits SEM bidding, teaser networks, cookie stuffing, pop-ups, toolbars/browser extensions, auto-direct sites and domain-buying sites.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Globally trusted, high-converting brand with 160M+ monthly users
• 30-day referral window so delayed bookings still count
• Multiple monetisation formats — widgets, banners and text links
• Managed on Impact.com with dedicated partner support
• Multilingual support across many domains and languages

Cons

• No published headline commission rate — earnings are a variable share of Skyscanner's own partner commission, making income hard to forecast
• You only earn when the referral completes a booking with a supply partner, not on the click alone
• 5,000+ monthly unique visitors minimum excludes new or small sites
• Influencers, coupon and cashback-style agencies are largely excluded or redirected elsewhere
• Payout schedule, minimum threshold and currency are not clearly stated on the official programme page

Overall, the Skyscanner affiliate programme suits established travel content publishers who can send genuine, high-intent traffic and want to work with a category-leading brand. The trade-off is transparency: the flexible, performance-linked commission model rewards volume but doesn't hand you a fixed rate to plan around. If your audience is actively planning trips, the conversion strength of the Skyscanner name can more than make up for that ambiguity. Apply through the programme page and complete your setup on Impact.com to get started.