Uber for Private Jets: How Mobile technologies can solve private aviation problems

If you think that flying on a private jet is accessible only for celebrities or bankers with at least a billion dollars in their accounts, you are wrong. Thanks to an on-demand business model, a luxury private jet is at your fingerprints. Also, private jets are becoming popular among wealthy Millennials and young entrepreneurs because they want to eliminate discomfort and stress from their travels. Thus, those born in the mid-1990s to early 2000s are expected to be the essential users of business aviation in the coming years. 

At the same time, the market of private jets is expected to grow from $24.7 billion in 2019 to $36.4 billion by 2030, making a flight-sharing app a killer tech startup idea. 

In this article, we describe how Uber for private jets works, the app’s essential features, and app development cost. 

But before hiring private jet charter app developers, let’s find out what problems Uber for private planes solves. 

Why is there a need for a private jet booking app?

As said before, Millennials will be the primary target audience of private jet providers for the next few years. To provide them with the most appropriate service, you should know that Millennials value their time, often travel for work, conferences, meetings, and appreciate flexibility. Also, they expect shared private jet services to be as user-friendly as Airbnb or Netflix. 

At the same time, to book a private jet, Millennials need to choose among the following options: 

• To book a flight through a third-party broker, which requires time and does not suit unexpected flights
• To book a share in a jet, i.e., fractional ownership. In this case, you can only use your share for a particular number of hours that may run out, and you would not be able to make the flight. 
• To buy a membership card and use it during a specific time. If you don’t use these hours within a specific period, all unused hours expire. 

Therefore, conventional means of jet chartering do not meet Millennials’ needs. 

At the same time, an Uber for charter flights app solves all the listed issues. 

How do apps for private jet share work?

To build your Uber for a private jet app, you should be aware of the app’s essential components and booking options. As an example, we take Victor, the first app for chartering private jets, launched in 2011. 

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• After you register in the app, enter the point of departure and destination to book a flight
• Now you can see all the jets available, together with instant pricing and estimated length of the flight 
• You can pay for a flight using a build-in payment gateway 
• After the app processes the payment, you receive a push notification that your jet has been reserved successfully 
• If you want to dine on your favorite sushi during the flight or take your nine dogs on board, you can ask for additional services in the FlyVictor Concierge section. 

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XO app, powered by JetSmarter, is another mobile solution for chartering private jets. The app offers unique jet booking options, including: 

• Private Fly is for when you want to book the whole plane
• Shared Charter to share the flight cost with other passengers you invite
• Fly by the Seat to find and book a single seat, or create a crowdfunded flight 

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Now that you know how an Uber for jet app works, let’s learn how to make it profitable. 

Monetization strategies for an On-demand private jet app

There are two basic pricing models private jet booking apps adopt:  

1. Subscription is the business model of choice for XO and Magellan Jets apps. To receive access to flight-sharing services, app users should buy a monthly or annual subscription. For instance, Magellan Jets annual card for 25-hour costs from $108,750. 
2. Pay-as-you-fly is another payment model used by JetVictor and Private Jet apps. App users pay only for hours spent during the flight. The cost of one hour starts from $2,800. 

Since jet booking services do not own plans, they perform as a middleman between customers and jet owners. Charging transaction fees is the essential monetization strategy of Uber for jet apps. 

• JetVictor charges a 10% fee per flight and empty legs booked via the app. 
• XO app charges passengers’ $395 service fee per flight. 

How to develop an Uber for private jets: essential features

What features do you need to include in your jet booking app? 

• User registration 

Once the user has downloaded the app, one should enter their email and phone number to create a user account. 

• Flight search 

To hitch a ride on a private plane, the user should enter the number of passengers, one’s location, point of destination, departure, and arrival date and time. Next, the private jet app will show all available flights with costs. 

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• Booking and payment 

The user can book a flight in the app and pay using PayPal, Stripe, or other payment gateways. 

• Push notification 

Your app should send push notification to inform your app users about changes of flight, and status. 

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How much does a private jet booking app cost? 

The cost to develop a private jet sharing app depends on the number of features, third-party integrations, the complexity of the app’s UI/UX design, and other factors. To give you an idea about a jet booking app cost, we created this table with a project estimated in hours. 

FeatureScreen	Functions required	Back-End	Android/iOS
Project Setup		12 hours	8 hours
App development
Login signup	Registration info Phone Number Login SMS verification in Sign Up	32 hours	24 hours
Profiles	Edit user profile Change credentials Change password	16 hours	16 hours
Google Maps integration	Google Map API integration Define the user’s location and show the nearest airport for private jets	8 hours	8 hours
Push notification	Inform user about changed order status	32 hours	16 hours
Flight booking	Create booking Booking confirmation by email	24 hours	12 hours
Payment getaways	Payment systems integration	24 hours	80 hours
Project Documentation	Technical specification Installation and deployment instructions Development documentation		30 hours
QA	Test all app’s features  Create bug reports Conduct re-testing  Conduct regression testing		50 hours

In a nutshell, to create a jet booking mobile app, developers need from three to four months per platform. The estimated development price of such apps starts from $70K. To receive a more detailed project estimate, use our project cost calculator.  

The APP Solutions tips for a private jet app like Uber 

Before starting the development stage, take into account that you need something more than making an XO or JetVictor apps clone. As experts in developing on-demand apps, we want to share tips to make your app successful. 

Smart Pricing Algorithm

The pricing algorithm is a sanctum sanctorum of all on-demand services, shrouded in mystery. Since you will gather transaction fees from each jet booking, you need to create an AI-powered pricing algorithm that will automatically add your commission to the total flight cost, while keeping prices competitive.  

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API integration

From the developer’s standpoint, such applications perform as deal aggregators, similar to KAYAK. Thus, to show current flights you need to integrate the app’s back-end with jet provider databases via API. We recommend the following APIs of private jet booking services:

• Tukijets
• PrivateFly.com
• Stratosjets

Jet interior preview

High-quality images might not be enough to provide your users with more details about the jet’s interior. Thus, to win a competition, consider empowering your jet booking app with 360°panoramic images, 3D preview, and even Augmented Reality. In this way, you will not only fascinate users with the interior of planes but also increase the credibility of your private plane sharing services. 

The business jet industry will remain profitable for the next several years. To receive a profit from booking private jets, consider developing an on-demand booking app. To stand out from the crowd and meet the high standards of Millenials, you need to make your booking service streamlined and easy to use. If you have an idea for your Uber for flights app, you can receive additional consultation after filling in our contact form. 

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Read also:

• How to Develop a Luxury App for Boats and Yacht Chartering