Jeremy Kaplan
Just as on demand taxi services like Uber have changed the landscape of our daily lives, private jet companies are setting out to do it all again – only with on demand air travel.
This piece takes a look at the move by companies to provide on-demand air travel services to destinations all around the world, as simply as we’d order a cab.
How will it work?
The proposed service will work by connecting the app user with a private pilot who is making the route already. Other services are already offering this, like the private air travel company, VistaJet, who offer ad hoc flights based on availability.
Flight sharing is nothing new as efforts have always been made to get people into remaining empty seats on flights all over the world. There are already amazing private jet services on offer, like at Vista Jet who offer on-demand services for elite clients.
There are a number of companies springing up globally that aim to provide this kind of service to those who can afford it. A number have gained celebrity endorsement, some even putting money where their mouths are.
How does this shape the future of air travel?
Despite the fact that air travel is a major contributor to global climate change, which is already having severe consequences on our world it seems that on demand services like these are only gaining in popularity.
The way the travel industry is making a move to on demand services reveals a need from the customer for far more flexibility and control in their hands. The relative inconvenience of standard plane travel already encourages VIPs, celebrities, and top business moguls to private jet ownership.
Good news for high net-worth individuals
The exciting thing for with assets to protect is notion that they could soon be able to dispense with the idea of private jet ownership altogether, and instead order travel 24/7 to all corners of the globe through this method.
This is a huge contributing reason that this on demand service has taken off (excuse the pun). With no capital investment to make, the freedom to travel at will isn’t bound to the ownership of such a costly-to-maintain aircraft.
Freedom does come at a price, however, and it looks like folks who aren’t numbered among the super-rich will have to endure the world of commercial air travel for an indefinite period.
