New app can hail private jet anywhere

Zurich — Wannabe jetsetters can now hail a private plane anywhere in the world from their smartphones thanks to an app that makes luxury air travel more accessible — at least to those who can afford the $7,000 membership.

JetSmarter, the brain child of Sergey Petrossov, 26, allows users to hire a jet in a matter of seconds. “Our goal as a company is to democratise private aviation,” he told Reuters in Zurich, where the company will open a European office in 2015.

Launched in March last year, the app has been downloaded over 300,000 times and facilitated more than 1,000 flights so far in 2014.

While the average ticket costs around $20,000, those who become members for $7,000 a year can get free or discounted “empty legs” flights, which travel empty when a plane returns to its home base after dropping off passengers,

The average JetSmarter member is tech-savvy, aged between 25 and 50 and earns at least $1 million a year, according to Petrossov. A-list celebrities, royalty and Shaikhs are among its users. —