W&F Issue 9 2018

www.wealthandfinance-news.com 6 Wealth & Finance International - Issue 9 - 2018 Private jet travel is the ultimate way to reach your destination, as Wealth & Finance International found out when Stratajet gave us the opportunity of experiencing one of its flights first-hand. With no checking in of baggage, no queuing to board and no hours of wasted time hanging around airports, private jet flights allow for the ultimate travel experience. Stratajet asks that you arrive only 15 minutes before your flight is due to depart, and an indulgent selection of drinks and snacks come as standard, with the option to upgrade to suit your needs. As such, every guest enjoys the perfect luxury experience when they fly with Stratajet. Up until now the process of booking a private jet has been rather outdated, leaving the private aviation industry showing a steep decline in new travellers. To counteract this and introduce a new generation of discerning travellers to the industry, Stratajet provides the first and only platform offering fliers a complete online booking system, streamlining the process entirely. Over the last five years Jonny and his team have been developing the technology to enable this service, and today the firm’s unique search algorithm is able to make upwards of 2.5million calculations in ten seconds to deliver accurate prices for private jet flights to the customer. With 15 different fees and 100s of variables from fuel costs and landing charges to specific aircraft pricing and empty leg flight costs to reposition the jet to its base, the algorithm Stratajet has developed allows the user to gain accurate and almost instant prices. Currently the firm’s average price for a flight is around £6,000, however when booking as part of a larger group, such as a group of executives attending a business meeting, the price per person often beats the cost of business class seats on a commercial flight. Therefore, Stratajet is making private jet travel very accessible and affordable for businesses, entrepreneurs and high net worth individuals alike as well as for consumers for leisure purposes. Whatever the travellers’ needs, be it for a medical emergency, being there for family in important times, travelling to an urgent meeting or simply enjoying a leisurely flight to your next getaway, Stratajet is committed to going above and beyond in providing an efficient mode of transport in the most comfortable and luxurious of settings. CEO Jonny Nicol shared that 30% of his customers are first-time private jet fliers; an impressive figure in an industry that sees less than 1% of first-timers. The Stratajet platform has truly opened up the private jet audience cutting out the need to engage with a broker or directly contact operators to gain flight details. It is not surprising that Stratajet’s revolutionary technology has landed the company spots on the Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50 and the FT1000, with the company demonstrating a massive 3,634% growth over a three-year period. Through his work developing Stratajet, Jonny himself has risen to be one of the most prominent figures within the private aviation industry. Prior to founding the firm Jonny served as an officer Wealth & Finance International recently spent some time with Jonny Nicol, Founder & CEO of Stratajet, the first real-time online private jet booking platform. Jonny demonstrated how this truly revolutionary platform has been a major driver in the increase of first time private jet travellers in recent years, in an industry that has struggled to attract new audiences traditionally. Stratajet: Transforming The Private Jet Industry and pilot in the British Army for a decade. Since his time in the army Jonny turned his attention to computer science in his passion for using technology to disrupt typically traditional industries. Stratajet is Jonny’s third business, the second having been bought by Hewlett Packard. Soon after the sale of his second business Jonny focused his efforts on streamlining the private jet industry seeing the need for a more efficient means of booking flights. In 2011 Stratajet was born and now more than seven years on is storming the industry, being the only real-time platform for booking private jet flights. Today, Jonny and his team are dedicated to ensuring the platform is ever-evolving to further improve its offering. Stratajet ensures that the customer remains at the heart of the business and that the platform reflects the changing needs of its customers. Stratajet’s vision is to make private aviation available to the mainstream traveller. The business continues to attract a younger audience and many a first-time private jet flier, proving that the platform really is transforming the private aviation industry. Having experienced the luxury that a Stratajet flight has to offer, Wealth & Finance International can understand how the business is bringing the private jet industry into a new area, and we look forward to hearing more about its exploits moving forward.