“Business aviation operates like a pre-internet industry,” according to Paul Toew, CEO of Silicon Valley-based tech company Stellar Labs. Touw’s company is one of several emerging efforts to digitize the charter market. “Operators typically have to make 20 proposals for each booked charter trip, and each booked trip can require hundreds of emails to complete,” he complained.

Stellar Labs’ system is designed to automate quoting, streamline the proposal/booking process and securely move funds via its electronic payment network. It plans to launch in Europe later this year and is here at EBACE trying to connect with the continent’s leading operators.

“Up to 35 percent of private aviation flights have [no passengers on board], but with our technology, this could potentially be reduced to 15 percent using our floating fleet optimization,” said Touw. “These levels of inefficiency meant hat the actual cost of a flight accounts for only around 60 percent of the purchase price.”

Stellar estimates that consumers spend more than $60 billion per year on business aviation–around $34 billion of which is in the U.S–but sees “huge potential for growth.” “We want to have the same impact on the private aviation sector that the likes of Sabre, Priceline, Über, Airbnb and others had on transportation and hospitality,” said Touw.