What inspired Avinode to enter the air ambulance space?

“We have been in the aviation space for some time, and we’ve always been looking for opportunities to take our platform into new markets,” explains Per. “The real trigger was COVID-19 when we saw private jets being used to ship supplies, which made us ask: what more can we do in this space? It was a natural segway for us.”

Per highlights, the proof of concept work with a multinational Medical Assistance company was crucial in validating the approach. “With 20 years of experience in aviation technology, we knew we could bring something innovative to the medical sector. We’ve always wanted to expand into adjacent industries, and COVID-19 became that trigger point.”

The success and lessons from our initial proof of concept made it easy to decide to invest more in developing a specific Air Ambulance Marketplace. “We now see this as an essential tool for any Air Ambulance and Medical Assistance company,” he adds.

How is Avinode Air Ambulance changing how medical missions are managed?

“The problem today is that there’s a lot of manual work involved,” Per points out. “Companies are sending out emails to a large number of operators, and everything is based on static data. It’s not dissimilar to how air charter was 20 years ago. We helped optimize their work then and want to do the same within the air ambulance space.”

The platform provides a centralized system for managing all missions, streamlining operations, cutting costs, and ensuring reliability at every step. “We connect air ambulance providers and assistance companies globally, offering a seamless, dependable, cost-optimizing solution,” says Per. “What’s more, our platform reduces time-to-patient by enabling users to find and sort through suitable providers for each mission quickly.”

How does the platform address the challenges of ambulance operators and medical assistance companies?

Per identifies several pain points for Medical Assistance Companies: “They lack real-time access to availability, real-time communication during trips, and they have concerns about GDPR, data security, and compliance.”

He notes different challenges for air ambulance operators: “They struggle with ensuring a regular stream of bookings, quoting and pricing trips accurately, filling their empty legs, and they also face issues with real-time communication and compliance.”

Our solution addresses these challenges by providing a comprehensive marketplace and management platform for air ambulance services, connecting providers and assistance companies globally with a centralized platform for all quotes and missions.

“Our system allows medical assistance companies to collect and compare multiple quotes from different providers simultaneously, saving valuable time while ensuring transparency,” Per adds. “And for operators, we verify AOC certifications, creating a network of trusted, approved providers that medical assistance companies can rely on.”

Per also addresses common resistance to new technology: “People sometimes object to tech and software today, but after showing demos and our vision, they understand the value immediately. When teams spend less time on operational logistics, they can dedicate more resources to what truly matters: patient care. In today’s world, where sophisticated technology drives nearly every aspect of our personal lives, there’s no reason the air ambulance sector shouldn’t benefit from the same level of innovation in its business operations.”

What sets the platform apart from other solutions in the market?

“Other solutions are ‘old school’—only email send-outs, nothing like our product currently in the market. Existing approaches are not as efficient and leave out a lot of value.”

He highlights several key differentiators: “We provide one centralized tool for a global overview of missions across multiple offices, flexible search options for empty leg flights and pooling, and customized reporting to optimize business insights. Our platform also includes detailed aircraft information and configuration details, giving medical teams the confidence they need when selecting an air ambulance operator.”

How do early adopters shape the future and drive the platform’s success?

“Our mission is to deliver value to our members, and we do this through active engagement,” Per emphasizes. “We listen, interact, and learn from our customers. We like working with forward-thinking, ‘challenging’ people who will provide the feedback to move us forward.”

Early adopters are critical to this process, providing feedback based on actual use cases. “Their hands-on experience helps improve features and usability, and their needs directly shape product development and feature prioritization,” he explains. “We want to hear what would make a difference for them!”

You can read the full article in The International Travel & Health Insurance Journal (ITIJ).