Táňa Ondrejková (source: Sandra Lizáková)
More than 20 years ago, at the dawn of the online ticketing era, Táňa Ondrejková launched Pelikán, a company specialising in selling flight tickets and holiday packages.
Through a combination of good timing, knowledge, and the right partner, she laid the foundations for a business that would thrive in one of the world’s most dynamic industries.
Today, Pelikán remains competitive by maintaining a startup culture that emphasises flexibility and innovation.
Ondrejková believes great leadership requires three key traits: being open and able to admit mistakes, treating everyone as an equal, and surrounding yourself with people who are smarter than you.
“I feel very confident in my ability to clearly assign tasks to people and define expectations - I consider this to be a key trait of a leader, too,” she says.
What will you read in this interview
how the travel industry has transformed in the past 21 years
how covid-19 reshaped global travel
what it takes to be a great leader
male vs female entrepreneurs: is there really a difference?
What has changed in the airline services sector in the 21 years since Pelikán was founded?
Táňa Ondrejková
Táňa Ondrejková, 46, is the co-founder and CEO of the travel portal Pelikan.sk. She has also co-founded e-commerce platforms for fashion that operate in the V4 region. She is an active angel investor and has invested in several Slovak startups and scaleups. She has been featured in the investment show Jama Levova, the Slovak version of the American format Shark Tank, and most recently co-founded Gluon Syndicate, an Angel Investor club in Slovakia.
She will be one of guests delivering a speech at a self-development event featuring Robin Sharma, writer, motivational speaker, and leadership expert, on March 5, in Bratislava.
Over the past 20 years, there have been significant changes in the travel industry that have affected both clients and airlines themselves. In some areas, processes have been simplified, but at the same time new complications have emerged. In the past, airline services were simpler and clearer. Clients could easily book a flight, with all basic services, including luggage, included in the price. Today, the situation is much more complex – multiple pricing packages may be offered for the same flight, with differences in services included, such as the number of bags, seat selection and other benefits. Another significant change is the digitalisation of the entire sector. Twenty years ago, there were no self-service kiosks or online check-in options. Today, customers have access to a wide range of digital services that facilitate travel, speed up processes and reduce costs for airlines. Digitalisation is therefore a major asset, especially at a time of intense price competition between low-cost airlines and legacy carriers. As far as customer behaviour is concerned, this has also changed significantly in recent years. Many now expect a higher quality of service for the same or lower price, which is difficult for airlines to deliver. Customers also have many more options when it comes to choosing their destinations and how they travel. Slovak travellers especially are increasingly adventurous, looking for new experiences and they increasingly prefer exotic destinations to traditional European locations.
The founding of Pelikán was very well timed. Did you know that such a breakthrough was coming?
