Now you can fly like the rich by chartering a private jet for as little as $317 a person.
Victor, a U.K.-based on-demand service and app for booking private jets, just raised $8 million in investment funding to expand into the U.S. market. In preparation, its new iOS app is being released to help make sure that expansion goes as smoothly as possible.
Using Victor, which bills itself as a bespoke service, is as easy as hailing an Uber. It has 7,000 registered private jets right now in the U.K., and you charter one by choosing a time, place and aircraft size. Then you pay and just have to turn up at the chosen airport. That’s it.
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While prices depend on the size of the jet, as well as the time and place of departure, Victor claims to be cheaper than chartering a jet on your own. There are no brokers who might jack up the costs through commission; instead, the startup cuts out the middleman and partners directly with aviation suppliers.
CEO and founder Clive Jackson told Business Insider:
“Traditionally, booking a private jet is an ineffective process with consumers at the mercy of brokers who often considerably mark up the cost due to the lack of regulation in the market.”
Victor Founder Clive Jackson
Users get instant quotes and price comparisons and can even see photos of the jet and aircraft details. In addition, Victor’s Pets on Jets program allows dogs to fly with their owners. Victor’s users are people who travel a lot, like professionals who work in the music industry. Musician Elton John is supposedly one of the service’s biggest customers.
We checked out a flight on Victor and compared it with the cost of taking a private jet using a different service as well as using a commercial airline. Here’s what we found. If we used Victor to fly out of Guernsey, an island in the English Channel, and into Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris (267 miles away) with a jet that holds seven people, the cost would be $2,223. With seven people in your entourage, the cost per head comes to $317.57. If you flew using Privatefly.com on the same day, the cost would be $4,750, and if you flew on Flybe by yourself, it would actually cost you more than Victor’s quote, with a pricetag of $416.
So if you travel in groups with your friends or family, Victor’s U.S. launch may mean you can live like the rich and famous by chartering your very own private jet from your phone.
