Brazilian flight-sharing startup Flapper enters the private jet business

COVID-19 has ruined many companies – but also boosted many others. This applies to business aviation, which has grown by about 30% in the wake of the pandemic.

“It has benefited a lot from the situation and many people have also discovered for the first time how to fly privately. That was the main difference: more demand, more work, more people to hire,” explains Paul Malicki, CEO of Flapper, a start-up founded in 2016 that acts as a marketplace for private flights.

“The disruption [in the industry] comes with the sharing economy and with a combination of applications, because for the first time Latin American customers can rent a private jet or a helicopter or buy a single seat through a marketplace,” he adds.

With the experience he gained during his time at Easy Taxi App for Latin America – and with his partners Arthur Virzin, Iago Labiapari, Sergio Terentev and William Oliveira – the expert believes that the future of this niche business lies in the sharing economy, because it needs a unified platform like his to promote the sector to its potential users, who are much more than one would expect.

Today, Flapper’s customers can use its app to specify around 1,150 aircraft available on its platform for charter flights, or book seats on pre-scheduled flights that may be available in less than two hours, according to Malicki.

The shared service is offered on routes in Brazil, including the routes between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and between São Paulo and Angra do Reis.

But also in Florida, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Chile and more recently in Argentina and Uruguay, because in mid-November the company announced the launch of a private flight service for the route Buenos Aires – Punta del Este, the price of which ranges from US$300 to US$350 per route.

Flights operate weekly from San Fernando International Airport (Buenos Aires) to Laguna del Sauce (Punta del Este) and vice versa using a Tecnam P2012 Traveler light aircraft, which can accommodate up to nine passengers with one carry-on bag and one carry-on bag each.

The new path follows Flapper’s recent fundraising, which is an approximately US$6 million Series A expansion that adds US$2 million to Flapper’s 2021 A round.

“This is the largest investment round for a private aerospace technology company globally, at this level and in Latin America. So we can proudly say that, as a Latin American company, we have managed to raise quite a large amount of capital,” comments Malicki.

According to him, the new funds will be used for investments in technology, flight operations, and even acquisitions.

As part of the expansion, a portion of the funds will go toward a fractional management program allowing current and prospective aircraft owners to acquire stakes in select jets and turboprops that Flapper will operate.

In addition, the company has started a new business venture. “We added an option to buy an aircraft in our system: today, Flapper not only sells the charter service but also the aircraft and now we are starting a new line of business with aircraft management. We are no longer just the middleman.”

“We are a company that can sell you an aircraft and then manages it, which can give that aircraft to someone else in five installments because it is not in constant use. So an aircraft that is not used is a dead asset. And you can lease your aircraft to third parties to optimize costs,” says Malicki.

Flapper estimates that the current charter market in Latin America is approximately US$22 billion, while the global market is estimated at over US$10 billion.

With information from latinapress

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