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The collapse in crude prices has meant less demand for the charter airlines that ferry workers back and forth from the oil patch, but a Calgary entrepreneur has come up with an unusual way to make the most of the idle planes: share them.

In much the same way that Uber transformed the taxi industry or Airbnb shook up the hotel industry, Roger Jewett hopes to change the way Canadians think about flying with his airplane-sharing service, Jump On Flyaways.

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Mr. Jewett came up with the model for Jump On in 2011 when he was chief financial officer of Enerjet Ltd., a charter airline with three Boeing 737s that it primarily uses to shuttle oil-patch workers between Calgary, Edmonton and Fort McMurray.

Enerjet’s aircraft were often idle on weekends, and the company was trying to think up ways to maximize their use. “We looked at doing commercial flights, but there was a huge amount of risk because … you could lose your shirt pretty quickly if you don’t fill the plane up,” Mr. Jewett said in an interview.