Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

Tapping into the market for empty-leg charter trips and consumer demand for lower-cost flights, FlyJets aims to connect charter operators with its more than 27,000 users while helping charter operators fill seats and airplanes profitably that otherwise would go empty. “There are a lot more people who want buy a single space at $3,000 instead of pay full price to go from Florida to New York,” said FlyJets founder and CEO Jessica Fisher.
<figure role="group" class="caption caption-img align-right">
<img alt="FlyJets mobile app" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d72362bd-00ad-478a-b159-c5ea1c1e5b0f" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/FlyJets%20mobile%20app.jpg" width="1170" height="2532" loading="lazy">
<figcaption>The FlyJets mobile app.</figcaption>
</figure>

Charter operators can sign up with FlyJets and upload any or all of their aircraft. “We know where the airplane is,” she said. “We tap into their scheduler [computer system] and our algorithm can read [information] based on where the aircraft is.” FlyJets doesn’t just offer to fill an empty leg for a traditional out-and-back charter but also offers the operator the opportunity to sell a flight in a further 200-mile radius.&nbsp;
The FlyJets system automatically ensures that the aircraft is within that range, whether it needs downtime for maintenance, and sets the minimum hourly rate that the operator is willing to accept. “The operator can change this anytime,” Fisher said. “We can allow our algorithm to make a schedule. The script looks at the available aircraft and updates every five minutes, finds the availability, and sells it to customers.”
Fisher came up with the idea for FlyJets as a business school project, then incorporated the company in 2018 and began beta testing in 2021. All of the technology behind the FlyJets system was developed in-house, she said.
“The thesis I had was, 'I don’t want to be a taker of existing empty legs.' I saw an opportunity to do something super unique and create utility.” She calls this concept “empty leg splits,” where a charter operator can sell discounted legs to FlyJets members but still generate more revenue for the entire trip. “This is the simplest way to solve what I see as a major utilization challenge in the business jet [charter] industry,” she said.
FlyJets' website offers those who sign up (accounts are free) the opportunity not only to make a firm booking for a flight but also, under the recently launched FlyJets+ marketplace, to bid on flights that haven’t yet been scheduled. In other words, customers can create demand that participating operators can fulfill. “If we have enough flyer volume and aircraft, we could be creating matchups every day,” Fisher said. FlyJets customers can also purchase emissions offsets using its FlyGreen calculator.
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<img alt="FlyJets search results" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="95e1345f-03d0-45e3-8dc7-011d39000b70" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/FlyJets%20search%20results.jpg" width="3002" height="1912" loading="lazy">
<figcaption>Search results on the FlyJets website.</figcaption>
</figure>

To further explain how FlyJets works, Fisher cited an example where a charter operator offers a trip at $35,000 for a one-way flight, but the operator needs the airplane back at its home base. She pointed out that the customer is paying for a round-trip flight, even though they are only traveling to the destination. The operator thus has available the return flight, which it can sell on the open market for 50% to 60% of the $35,000 price of the original charter. The net revenue for the whole trip thus would be $52,000 to $56,000, if the return trip can be sold.
FlyJets members can save money by requesting an empty leg, which Fisher calls creating “phantom” empty legs before the trip, and if another member requests the opposing trip, each pays less—an average of 40%—than it would have cost for the $35,000 round trip. The operator still gains more revenue, $42,000 for the roundtrip, while FlyJets members enjoy the discount (paying $21,000 for each leg). This eliminates “between $10,500.00 and $14,000.00 of ‘financial waste,’” according to Fisher.
“We’re here to assist both flyers and operators in terms of increasing efficiency, eliminating waste, decreasing costs for end-user flyers, and simultaneously increasing utilization rates—and therefore total revenue—for aircraft providers,” Fisher said.

News and issues concerning the aviation charter and fractional-ownership industries and markets, including company announcements, regulations, new developments and labor issues.

FlyJets Taps Trip Requests To Offer Business Aircraft Charter Discounts

'Phantom' empty legs can add up to savings for buyers and revenue for operators

The FlyJets website allows those who sign up to make a firm booking for a flight and, via FlyJets+ marketplace, bid on flights that haven’t yet been scheduled.

FlyJets Taps Trip Requests To Offer Charter Discounts

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