The Dubai online travel agency that wired itself straight to the airline - and became the first in the Gulf and MENA to reach the top tier of NDC airline retailing.
Most travel agencies resell what the reservation systems hand them. Zeeyarah - Superior Tracks Travel & Tourism took a different route. The Dubai company, operating legally as Superior Tracks Travel and Tourism LLC, set out to connect travelers directly to airlines using IATA's New Distribution Capability, or NDC - the standard reshaping how flight content is sold. In July 2019 the effort paid off: Zeeyarah became the first online travel agency and B2B aggregator in the Gulf, Middle East and North Africa to earn NDC Level 4 certification, the top tier available.
The company sells to two audiences at once. Consumers book flights, hotels and holiday packages through the Zeeyarah brand in the Gulf and the Flyintrip brand elsewhere. Travel agents and trade partners tap the same airline-direct inventory through a B2B reseller and aggregator platform. Around that core sit the practical pieces of a full trip - airport transfers, car rentals and cruises - plus Zeeyarah Business, a managed offering aimed at corporate travel.
What it solves is a quiet but expensive problem: fragmented, middleman-heavy airline distribution. By plugging directly into carriers such as Saudia, Emirates and Fly Dubai through NDC, Zeeyarah aims to surface richer fares and content with fewer layers in between. The certification is not marketing garnish - it is the technical license that lets the company do this at scale, and it was published in regional business press and on IATA's own registry.
The founder's background explains the bet. Mohammed Gaus spent 26 years in travel, 24 of them inside Emirates Airlines across five countries, before starting the company in 2016. He did not leave aviation to escape it. He left to rebuild the part he had watched up close for two decades: how a seat gets sold.
Figures compiled from public company sources, IATA's airline-retailing registry and press coverage. Funding and headcount figures are as reported by third-party databases and should be treated as approximate.
The consumer travel portal for the Gulf - flights, hotels and holiday packages with direct airline (NDC) connectivity and local payment options including credit cards and SADAD.
Zeeyarah's sister OTA brand for markets outside the Gulf, running on the same NDC distribution backbone.
A reseller and aggregation platform that gives travel agents and trade partners access to airline-direct content the NDC-native way.
Managed corporate travel - booking tools, travel plans and professional guidance for companies handling frequent trips.
Hotel reservations and bundled holiday packages sit alongside flights for complete, single-checkout trips.
Airport transfers, car rentals and cruises round out the catalog beyond the core air-and-hotel offering.
IATA's New Distribution Capability is a shift away from legacy, text-based airline distribution toward richer, airline-controlled content. Certification climbs through levels - each one a deeper technical integration. Zeeyarah started at Level 3 in 2018 and reached Level 4, the top rung, in 2019.
In plain terms: fewer middlemen between the traveler and the airline, and the ability to sell fares and extras the carrier actually controls. For a regional agency, being early and certified is the moat.
IATA NDC certification ladder — Zeeyarah reached the top tier.
SAUDIA is proud to be the first carrier in the region that secured NDC level 3 certification from IATA.
On one side, leisure and business travelers across the UAE and Saudi Arabia booking flights, stays and packages. On the other, travel agents and trade partners who resell Zeeyarah's airline-direct inventory through its B2B aggregator. The same NDC connectivity powers both.
Regional rivals - the Wegos, Cleartrips, Musafirs and dnata Travels of the Gulf - largely compete on scale and marketing. Zeeyarah competed on plumbing: an early, top-tier NDC integration that few in MENA had when it launched. Add a founder who spent 24 years inside an airline and localized payment rails like SADAD, and the positioning is technical rather than promotional.
Booking margins and service fees on flights, hotels, packages, transfers, cars and cruises sold to consumers.
Reselling airline-direct NDC content to travel agents and trade partners across the region.
Airline and supplier commissions, made more valuable by direct NDC connectivity that reduces intermediary layers.
Where it fits: Zeeyarah sits at the intersection of the Gulf's booming outbound travel market and the industry-wide move from legacy GDS distribution to NDC. It is a small, specialist player betting that certification and airline relationships matter more than raw ad spend.
A First Class Commerce graduate with CMA/CPA qualifications and 26 years in travel - 24 of them at Emirates Airlines, working across the UAE, Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Iran. He founded the company in 2016 to modernize airline distribution in the Gulf.
Chief Commercial Officer and co-founder, helping steer the company's commercial strategy across its consumer and B2B travel businesses.
Superior Tracks Travel and Tourism LLC is established, first launching in Saudi Arabia.
The company relocates its HQ to Dubai, UAE, settling in Business Village, Deira.
Zeeyarah officially launches as an OTA in KSA and the UAE, with Saudia as its pilot carrier.
Awarded the top NDC tier, the first OTA and B2B aggregator in the Gulf/MENA to reach it.
A funding round dated May 2020 appears in third-party startup databases (figures approximate).
Video: no official YouTube channel, interview or product-demo video was found on public sources at time of writing. Details above are drawn from public listings, press coverage and IATA's registry; funding and headcount figures are approximate.