In our latest edition of Meet the Kambr Customer, get to know Corendon Airlines' Yasar Tekeli. Learn about how he unwittingly ended up in Paris during one of the city's most significant events, how he learned about Kambr and where he hopes to retire someday.  

Where are you from and where do you live now?

I’m Turkish and live in Antalya, Turkey, which is a top leisure destination in our country.

How did you start working in the aviation industry?

In the past, I worked in the capital of Turkey as a Financial Specialist. I decided to move to Antalya to live there. After moving from Antalya, I got an offer from Corendon Airlines to work as a Reporting Specialist. I’ve been in the company since September 2014.

What has been your career path and what is your current role at Corendon Airlines?

As I said previously, I started working as a Reporting Specialist. Then I worked as a Budget Planning Specialist for 2 years. Since 2016, I’ve been working as a Revenue Management Specialist. 

How did you originally hear about Kambr?

Our company decided to change its business model from Full Charter to Seat Only. This created a need for Revenue Management Software. When we started to look we thought there was only one choice.

"We heard from another tech company and our tour operator in the Netherlands that a new startup was to be formed and they offer a good alternative. With two references from trusted partners, we decided to give Kambr a chance."

However, we heard from another tech company and our tour operator in the Netherlands that a new startup was to be formed and they offer a good alternative. With two references from trusted partners, we decided to give Kambr a chance. That’s how we heard about Kambr and contacted Michael Peters. 

How has the collaboration with Kambr gone? What’s the biggest benefit for Corendon Airlines?

Very smooth. I think it was the fastest and smoothest integration my company has ever had. Since we were one of the first customers and Kambr was enthusiastic about their product, we got fast and high-level support all the time.

Our systems were mostly in-house and has different and more complex structures than that are available in the market. We took a risk trusting a startup. Lucky for us, Kambr kept its promise to deliver a good product. 

What has you excited about the future of your partnership with Kambr?

Their background, enthusiasm and vision were the main reasons we were excited to gamble with a startup. After we started to work with Kambr, we also saw that they are hardworking, and flexible. The combination of these helped us a lot. 

What are some exciting things happening at Corendon Airlines?

Our business model moves from B2B to B2C more and more each year. We’re now setting up a more structured Revenue Management Dept. Our Commercial Department is also reshaped to be more B2C focused. We passed through one of the biggest aviation crises with the pandemic. 

Do you have any unique traveling tales or past trips?

Lots actually. I like traveling and have accumulated a lot of tales. The funniest one of them was on my first trip outside Turkey. We took Interrail trip from Istanbul to the Netherlands and back in 23 days.

"He was shocked since we did not go there for the Tour de France while thousands of people from all over the world were there just for the race."

When we were in Paris, we were in the streets and almost no one was around. We were wondering where all the people were. It was Sunday but French people, to our knowledge, were not religious enough to attend church gatherings. When we got closer to Arc de Triomphe we saw a huge crowd. We did not know why everyone was there. So decided to ask a guard. He replied in shock, "Tour de France?"

He was shocked since we did not go there for the Tour de France while thousands of people from all over the world were there just for the race. Then we gave him another shock by asking What is the Tour de France? He said, "famous bicycle race!"

We said “ok” and gave him yet another shock by turning our back to the world-famous bicycle race which was the famous Lance Armstrong’s last race. 

What’s your favorite destination or dream destination which you’d like to visit someday?

I usually prefer to visit different places. However, Barcelona is my favorite. I went there once. I am going again this month and would like to visit it more in the future too. The place I’ve never been to and would like to visit is Latin America. Uruguay, specifically. I have a plan to live there after I retire.  


Have you ever missed a flight? If so, what happened?

No. Never. I’m too cautious about flight times. I usually go to the airport at least 2 hours before the flight and check the flight schedule several times to make sure I don’t miss anything. 

What’s your favorite airline-based movie and/or TV show? 

Sully with Tom Hanks and Alive (1993) are my favorites. 

What’s the last thing you Googled?

These movies :p I tried to remember the exact titles. 

What’s something most people don’t know about you?

I prefer it to stay unknown. Usually, people know me very well. I’m a predictable and open guy.