Houston start-up wants to be the 'Uber for private jets'

Sick of commercial travel? Have some money to burn? TapJets is here to help, if you would like to fly in style and without a hassle from the TSA. Imagine "Uber for private jets" and you get close to the idea for TapJets, according to CEO Eugene Kesselman. See more photos of life on a private jet... less Sick of commercial travel? Have some money to burn? TapJets is here to help, if you would like to fly in style and without a hassle from the TSA. Imagine "Uber for private jets" and you get close to the idea ... more Photo: TapJets Photo: TapJets Image 1 of / 33 Caption Close Houston start-up wants to be the 'Uber for private jets' 1 / 33 Back to Gallery

Sick of commercial travel? Have some money to burn? TapJets is here to help, if you would like to fly in style and without a hassle from the TSA.

Imagine "Uber for private jets" and you get close to the idea for TapJets, according to CEO Eugene Kesselman.

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By downloading the TapJets smartphone app, private jet pilots and passengers are connected and the app works to find the best deal for those passengers. Launched at the end of 2016, he says that there are 10,000 subscribers to the app. Over 480 flights have been flown using the app so far.

"In a nutshell, there are 1.1 million private jet flights per year," Kesselman says. "That's about 3,000 flights a day. Some of those are empty planes with no passengers and just pilots, polluting the air for no reason."

Like Uber and Lyft, qualified pilots and safe planes get good ratings. Booking a flight takes less than 30 seconds depending on preferences. Users can also pay for flights with a Bitcoin account.

"Unlike Uber, we don't set the prices but we do try to find people the lowest prices for travel," Kesselman says. "Instead of doing it the old-fashioned way, you have the access of all the charter planes inventory available on the app."

The old-fashioned way means phoning a travel service, using a broker, or faxing over a request to an office, both concepts not very inviting for the young, jet set clientele to which TapJet wants to cater.

Champagne problems? Sure, but the company is making it a little easier for the pilots to make money and for customers to get where they need to go. Turboprops, long-rage, midsize, and light jets are all on the app.

TapJets has no membership fees or cards, nor does it rely on end-to-end outsourcing, although they do take a 10 percent cut. You only pay for the time they fly, Kesselman says. The clock starts from the time you board the plane, the engines start and ends at your destination when engines are shut down.

TapJets will also offer other services like transportation to the airplane and on to the final destination if needed.

The price of a flight to say, Aspen, could be $1,500 depending on the size of the plane and its amenities. That's the rate that the traveler would pay for the flight, not per person.

There is also an option to bid on flights. Auctions can allow flights to be planned out in advance.

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Right now on the app, a flight from Aspen to Houston on the day before Christmas Eve for seven people would cost just $910.

Flights can go up to $10,000 and beyond depending on the plane's size, demand, availability, and other factors.

Typically those who use private planes are high net-worth people, corporations, and law firms with deep pockets that need to move people quickly and or make a lasting impression.

TapJets is working to make it a bit easier for everyone to partake in private flying, without the hassles of commercial planes.

"It's good for impulse flyers too," says Kesselman.

To partially quote Lefty Frizzell by way of Willie Nelson, if you've got the money, these private jet pilots have got the time.

Craig Hlavaty is a reporter for Chron.com and HoustonChronicle.com. He's an intolerable native Texan with too much ink in his skin and too much brisket stuck in his teeth.