Just like the broader aviation industry, the private jet market has undergone a significant transformation in recent years. With this change, Jettly, a leading private charter technology company, has been busy introducing a new platform to bring private jet bookings into the modern era.
A new market
Jettly is all about taking the stress out of booking a private jet. It is determined for passengers not to have added jet costs such as fractional aircraft ownership or traditional jet card programs. With headquarters in France, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, the company brokers jets for passengers all across the continents.
Younger market segments are emerging in the private jet sector following industry overhauls. However, current systems around the world are largely outdated, forcing those used to streamlined processes to go through manual procedures.
As a result, Jettly has introduced a new app and website platform that allows jet-setters to browse a network of operators to reach their destination. Passengers can customize their requests and sit back to await quotes that come back within hours.
Adapting to the conditions
Simple Flying recently caught up Jettly CEO Justin Crabbe about the new platform. He highlights that the audience will be familiar with the approach due to its ease of navigation.
“The searchability is very similar to Expedia for the commercial side. We’ve done this for the private side. To the best of our knowledge, nobody has created an open-facing marketplace like this, aggregating all of the data to one system, allowing you to book directly online. With the old way of going about things, you would literally have to call an operator at a local airport and then go through all of the airports in the area to find an operator with an aircraft that’s available,” Crabbe told Simple Flying.
“You would then have to speak to a person to obtain a quote. That whole process, in 2022, is quite slow. We are millennials, and our client base is really growing in the millennial category, and this type of consumer doesn’t want to wait for anything. They want to point, click, book, pay, and get things done. That’s essentially what we’ve done here. It can be a long-drawn-out process to find a suitable private jet.”
An operator with four to five aircraft may have one salesperson. When someone calls the sales desk, they could wait between 24 and 48 hours for a callback. In the end, the aircraft might not be available, or there may not even be a response. So, there is no clarity, and nothing is immediate. There is also a broker model, where a client may be calling someone that’s operating in a basement in a house. The broker would have a contact log of all the operators and would do all the leg work for the client.
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All in one place
Overall, Jettly is bringing private jet bookings into the 21st century, let alone 2022. Many other travel segments have transitioned into a streamlined, user-friendly online approach. However, it has taken the private jet market until now to make the switch.
The functionality of the system brings together, in an open marketplace fashion, everything that the broker would do and everything that the customer would have to obtain from the operator itself. In a clear manner, fliers can see the features of the aircraft.
“Passengers can see if an operator has configured their amenities on board, whether it has a lavatory, if it allows pets, and things of that nature. It would all be on display here and it would be searchable for the client. We have clients that put skis on board the aircraft. They need to make sure that it can be compatible and have enough space for those skis or snowboards,” Crabbe added.
“The itinerary is displayed, of course, to the user. This is where it gets interesting from a perspective of what was done in the past to what was done today. If you booked on Airbnb, or any open marketplace, typically they show reviews of the Airbnb property or whatever you’re renting. On our platform, it would have a number of reviews on this aircraft in particular, which you wouldn’t be able to see in the past. You would have had no idea who this operator was.”
Greater transparency
Typically, the broker prevents clients from accessing these features because the passengers would then go directly to the operator. They also don’t collect reviews on each of the flights that are conducted. So, Jettly conducts post-flight surveys that get sent to each of the passengers on board the flight. The guests then populate the reviews and their firsthand accounts of the operator as well as the aircraft.
Experiences such as broken furniture can be reported and shared. This factor holds the operator accountable to a higher level of service. With a focused volume of reviewers compared to a mass platform, there is not a bunch of people slating commercial airlines. The market is generally more granular, allowing for more concise and constructive reviews.
As the new year gets fully underway, Jetty will be transitioning to the new platform for its customers to fully enjoy the benefits. In this next chapter of aviation, there will undoubtedly be several opportunities for private jet operators.
What are your thoughts about Jettly’s new booking system? What do you make of the overall platform? Let us know what you think about the implementation of the app and its prospects in the comment section.
