Cactus can help your business benefit from AI through "StartAI", the AI program of Agoria and Vlaio
AvioBook, a Thales Group Company, faced rapid growth but struggled to find skilled developers locally. Industry-specific complexities made onboarding difficult, requiring a scalable solution to support expansion.
AvioBook, a Hasselt-based technology company, is actively scaling its development team to meet rising demand. However, sourcing highly skilled developers locally has proven difficult. To address this, AvioBook partnered with Cactus, a company with a strong team of experienced software developers. Expert engineers from Cactus’s Spanish hub were mobilised to support the Belgian company directly.
The aviation sector faces growing challenges in attracting highly skilled engineering talent across flight operations, technical engineering, and regulatory compliance. On top of that, Post-pandemic recovery in aviation has been slower than expected, while ongoing geopolitical tensions have led to stricter regulatory protocols within the EU and for EU-based companies. These factors have intensified the need to recruit highly qualified engineers in this sector who are based within the European Union.
The situation is equally complex in the software sector, especially in smaller countries like Belgium, where demand for innovation is high but the talent pool is limited. For instance, some studies estimate that Belgium has up to ten percent fewer iOS developers than Spain.
Cactus’ Spain team capabilities to scale and grow resulted to be the ideal solution for AvioBook’s needs. The talent pool in Spain through Cactus, with strong expertise in both iOS and Java, offered a clear strategic advantage for Aviobook to meet their roadmap and customer commitments.
Jonas Lejeune, Chief Product Officer at AvioBook, explains:
“We were all competing for the same small pool of developers. We could never bring in the talent we needed—at the level of quality and within the time frame required. To address this, we’re expanding our options and exploring more flexible solutions.”
To meet AvioBook’s needs, Cactus applies its Engage an Expert methodology—embedding experienced developers directly into AvioBook’s workflows and culture.
The onboarding process begins with an in-person immersion in Hasselt, where developers connect face-to-face with AvioBook teams. This personal introduction ensures smoother integration and a deeper understanding of aviation-specific workflows.
At Cactus, we place strong emphasis on both the personal and technical development of our team members during their assignment. While we always adapt to meet the specific needs of our customers, we firmly believe that empowered and well-trained software engineers deliver greater productivity and higher performance. Our goal is to cultivate well-rounded, 360-degree software professionals. To achieve this, Cactus invests significant effort in ensuring that every team member follows a structured and continuous training path.
In addition, our cross-cultural and international team brings diverse perspectives, problem-solving approaches, and experiences to the table—leading to stronger collaboration and more creative solutions. This diversity creates a dynamic and engaging work environment and brings value to our customers. With a broader, more global mindset, our combined teams are able to develop higher-quality, more user-focused products.
To support ongoing alignment, Cactus conducts structured follow-ups post-onboarding. These check-ins, led by HR and technical managers, help proactively identify needs and maintain productivity. Cactus also ensures consistent coordination through dedicated team managers.
Beyond the day-to-day work, both teams strengthen collaboration through team-building activities in Belgium, joint attendance at iOS conferences, and meetups in Seville, fostering integration, trust, and cross-border synergy that enable Cactus developers to act as true strategic partners.
As a result of this collaboration, AvioBook is actively delivering a high-performance aviation software suite with impactful upgrades:
iOS App Improvements: Enhanced UI now supports displaying multiple flights on a single screen, improving operational usability for airline staff.
Performance Optimization: Refactoring from UI Kit to SwiftUI is streamlining app load times, improving scalability, and resolving persistent bugs.
These improvements are positioning AvioBook to continue strengthening its leadership in aviation software.
AvioBook’s collaboration with Cactus is proving to be a model for how strategic partnerships can power long-term innovation. What began as a solution to a talent shortage has become a deeply integrated, evolving relationship, grounded in personal connection, process excellence, and mutual trust.
The joint focus on onboarding quality, ongoing feedback loops, and cross-cultural team development has laid a strong foundation for agility and continuous improvement.
Looking ahead, AvioBook is positioned to continue scaling its product, refining its technology, and leading the charge in aviation software innovation with Cactus as a committed and collaborative partner by its side.
The article first appeared at Bloovi on June 5, 2023. Read the Dutch version here and read the English version here.
