Is the Battle Underway to Become the “Uber of the Skies”

Over the last few years there has been a bit of a revolution in the way the chartered private jet companies operate. An injection of capital has led to increased competition and to companies using technology to make their services more accessible, easier to book and ultimately cheaper. Here we investigate whether the battle to become the Uber of the skies is underway.

Private Jet Charter Apps

One of the most significant ways in which private jet charters have innovated over the past few years is by introducing bespoke apps for customers to use. The apps can be downloaded on to a mobile phone and allow the user to browse private jet charters using a range of criteria, such as destination.

Once the user has registered, by giving some basic personal details, they can also use the app to actually book seats on private jets. Many of the most forward thinking charter companies operate in a similar fashion to the now ubiquitous taxi firm Uber and this means not booking the entire jet, rather just the seats you need. This makes the service cheaper, as the remaining seats are then sold on to other passengers.

Empty leg flights are also being offered by companies, often at reduced rates and this is feeding into the battle to reign the skies. Empty leg flights occur when a jet has been chartered to a specific destination and then has to return to base. It was once the case that these return flights would be made without passengers, but in a bid to become more competitive the seats are now available to book.

Why Charter a Private Jet?

When it comes to justifying why you may want to charter a private jet, the number of reasons there are is quite surprising. In the first instance, they offer more comfort and the peace and privacy to be able to do work for example. In addition to this, however there are some less obvious reasons.

Private jets can save the individuals using them a considerable amount of time because they won’t need to queue up whilst at the airport. Also, the number of airports from which private jets fly is greater, so those using them are more likely to find one close to them and once in the air they fly direct to their destination – so no connections to slow you down.

So, with larger fleets, more operators and an increased number of flights that are costing less, it is more than justifiable to say that yes, the battle to become the Uber of the skies is well underway.