Uber Co-Founder Garrett Camp Launches BlackJet, The "Uber For Private Jets"
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This seems like a different market. I am not quite sure I understand it. It looks like it is flying private rather than first class on standard routes. The advantage to charters is that you don't have to go through security, and you can fly from nowhere to nowhere direct. I don't understand this business model. It seems like they are flying standard routes.
New York to LA on a private jet is worse than commercial because you are stuck in a 6 foot diameter pipe for 4.5 hours, rather than a first class seat on a normal airplane.
I realized this evening when slogging southbound on Highway 101 in the Bay Area what I really want is something that attaches to my car roof with a big NASA approved docking connector on it (aerodynamic though) which when I call up the app schedules a Sikorsky Sky Crane to fly by pick me up out of traffic and take me to my destination.
I have not had the opportunity to compare commercial first class travel to private jets, but my hunch is that 9/10 people would prefer a private jet, even ignoring the convenience factor of skipping the TSA and flying on your own schedule. In first class you get a seat. In a private jet, you get the jet.
> BlackJet seeks to partner with charter jet services to help them fill space on flights
If they are doings set routes like it sounds, that makes sense. If you have the whole plane you should be able to go where you want. But then you have NetJets.
If I may play the traditional role of first-comment-is-negative however:
1. NetJets are a fractional ownership company who are probably going to remain more popular at this level of society because they're a full service outfit;
2. Charter companies already run their planes efficiently, so they may be in a position to match on price on some routes;
3. I suspect that for a lot of really really rich people, owning a plane is not a purely financial decision. It's a status signal.
All that being said ... it might just work by creating a new market segment -- people who can afford business or first class but can't quite justify private charters.
I think people on HN sometimes underestimate the importance of the middleman in economic life. You don't have to be B2C or B2B with a direct product or service. Often the most profitable position is as the switchboard.
www.airbnb.com
www.taskrabbit.com
www.twilio.com
I think we understand very well that running the marketplace is where its at. Remember, we're trying to be the middleman, just much more efficient than the incumbents.
The private jet market is scheduled at the last minute and filling unused seats (or return segments) seems to be quite challenging, even if offered as one way last minute deals to consumers. Is the goal to have a Southwest like "Ding" fare alert for subscribers?
If your app knows where people want to go to, knows their location, knows their spend willingness, etc, you can capture that additional revenue you might've never known about.
What I found out the other day is that Jesse Jaymes [1] who sang the song "College Girls are Easy" founded Marquis Jets, a similar-ish service.
He's also married to the billionaire founder of Spanx. Extraordinary career trajectory.
The issue with this idea, at least as I understand it, is that they're generating higher utilization by sharing and perhaps selling deadhead legs. Any of those things (and anything I can think of that drives utilization meaningfully higher) gives up a lot of the flexibility and precision adaptation to the guy-in-back's ever-changing schedule.
I fly my family in our (piston) airplane for most of our travel east of the Mississippi. Even at piston costs and speeds (both way lower than jets), I can usually beat them door-to-door out to 800 miles and I smoke them door to door for everything under 500 miles. Plus, I'm never waiting for my inbound aircraft, getting the free opt-out feelup by TSA, sweating connections or waiting for my bags.
UberJet can deliver on some of those things, but the closer they drive it to part 121 (air carrier) to make it cheaper, the more they'll give up on the advantage side. I suspect they'll give up a lot of advantages and still not have a cost-competitive product. No one will complain about riding x-country in a Citation X, but they may balk at the $7500/hr operating cost.