By Oliver King | CEO of Avinode Group

“We will be the Uber of Private Jets” – it’s a pitch we’ve heard countless times in the business aviation industry. At Avinode, we’ve listened to these claims and witnessed firsthand the rise and fall of many such ventures, from Virgin Charter to Jet Smarter. Our unique position as a technology provider has given us a clear perspective: genuine “Uber-like” private jet services aren’t viable. However, while the direct model won’t work, there’s still plenty our industry can learn from Uber’s revolutionary approach.

Why a true “Uber for Jets” won’t work for charter flights

Despite numerous attempts and continued investor enthusiasm, several fundamental challenges prevent a direct translation of Uber’s model to private aviation:

• Limited On-Demand Supply: Unlike rideshare vehicles that can be anywhere, private jets aren’t just sitting around waiting. The asset allocation is fundamentally different.
• High Fixed Costs: The economics of operating private aircraft involve significant expenditures on pilots, fuel, maintenance, and regulatory compliance that cannot be easily scaled down or distributed.
• Different Network Effects: More passengers naturally attract more drivers in ridesharing, creating a virtuous cycle. More passengers don’t automatically generate more pilots and aircraft in air charter.
• Investment Barriers: Business Aviation’s fragmented nature makes large-scale IT investments challenging, with development costs spread across relatively few transactions.
• Market Size Limitations: Ultimately, the addressable market may not be large enough to support the massive scale required for an Uber-like model to achieve profitability.

The underlying reality is that private jets cannot truly be “on-demand” like car rides. The complexity of operations, regulations, and economics makes creating a seamless, consumer-style marketplace exceptionally difficult at scale.

Brokers aren’t going anywhere

Unlike Uber’s direct driver-passenger connection, the broker-operator model in private aviation serves a critical purpose. Brokers provide essential market reach that would be prohibitively expensive for operators to achieve independently. Even major airlines with strong brand recognition in their home markets rely on intermediaries to extend their reach in less familiar territories. This intermediary function becomes even more vital for private jet operators with significantly smaller brand awareness.

The success of this system depends heavily on data quality and flow. Brokers need transparent, accurate information on availability, pricing, specifications, and positioning to match the right aircraft to the right trip. When this data flows efficiently, everyone benefits: faster sales processes, smoother transactions, increased client confidence, and ultimately a better customer experience.

The most successful operators and brokers will embrace technology to improve transparency and speed rather than resisting it, recognizing that relationships and data quality are complementary strengths rather than competing priorities.

Change Is on Its Way: Four Areas of Innovation

Despite the challenges, our industry is evolving in ways that adapt Uber’s most successful elements to private aviation’s unique environment. Four key areas of innovation are reshaping the charter landscape.

• Tech-Driven Sales: We’re moving toward smarter quoting automation while recognizing that high-net-worth clients still value personal relationships. The goal isn’t to replace human sales teams but to enhance them with tools that help brokers recommend optimal flights faster and anticipate client needs based on past behavior.
• Revenue Management: Data-driven pricing represents another growth area, though implementation remains limited. While Uber’s instant dynamic pricing isn’t fully transferable due to aviation’s regulatory costs and owner preferences, companies are beginning to implement pricing systems that reflect demand patterns and fleet positioning to optimize revenue.
• Smarter Compliance: Rather than viewing KYC/KYB as sales obstacles, forward-thinking companies are implementing digital verification tools that enhance security while reducing friction, moving away from unsecured email exchanges toward secure APIs and automated risk assessment.
• Customer Experience Innovation: While fractional programs and larger operators are progressing, the industry is gradually adopting systems that remember client preferences for elements like catering and cabin setup across flights. Whatever the hype, we are not at the AI-enhanced flight recommendations based on past experiences.

The Future: Matching the Right Trip with the Right Aircraft

While we may not see the next “Uber for business jets” emerge in the exact form often envisioned, we can collectively work toward ensuring that the right trip matches the right aircraft. By improving data quality, embracing appropriate technology, maintaining valuable human relationships, and learning the right lessons from consumer tech platforms, the charter aviation industry can evolve to meet changing expectations while addressing its unique challenges.

The future lies not in forcing an unsuitable model onto our industry but in thoughtfully applying digital innovation’s best elements while honoring private aviation’s specialized nature.

Want to connect?

You can connect with me on LinkedIn or say hi at EBACE- Geneva, Switzerland, May 20-25, 2025.