JetSmarter - The Uber of the sky
APRIL 5, 2016 // ADMIN // FW WORLD NEWS
By Kelsey Lyons
Who needs Uber when you can hop on a private jet? Well maybe if you’re filthy rich.
JetSmarter was launched in March 2013 and people are calling it the “Uber of jets.”
JetSmarter is an app that allows you to book a flight on a private jet on your phone within minutes (three to be exact).
CEO and Founder Sergey Petrossov says yes that Uber is great and has some similarities to Jetsmarter, but he wants his company to be different. “What we are doing at JetSmarter is unique in its [own] way. So it’s great to be compared but I want to reach a point where it’s not being compared; it’s just JetSmarter,” Petrossov said in an article published in Entrepreneur Magazine.
There are many benefits in using Jetsmarter. There are no line-ups and no security. You just show up minutes before take off and you’re good to go. Members can pay an annual fee of $9,000 a year and they receive up to 35,000 hours of private flights.
To get an idea as to what it costs, for $800 a month you can fly anywhere in the US, unlimited.
However, Jetsmarter has its challenges. The app is really only accessible to about 250,000 people in the US.
The app is expensive and 250,000 people out of over 300 million people in the US is a very small market.
Petrossov says that in order for the company to succeed is to rely on word of mouth for now. Jetsmarter needs to give their customers exceptional service in order for future business from them and their friends and family.The app also offers “empty leg” flight deals, which allow users to receive rates up to 75 per cent less than the average private jet companies. Petrossov is hoping this will allow for a larger variety of people to use the app. This can also lead to the concept of “Jet-sharing,” which allows a group of people to split the cost of the trip. Jet smarter has a long way to go, but Petrossov has high hopes for his company.
In 2014 alone, the app was used to book 1,000 flights. Petrossov says he’s expecting Jetsmarter will have 10,000 members by the end of 2016.
