Clients can then book a seat on a private jet. A flight from, say, New York to Florida can cost between $1,700 to $2,000. A seat on a jet from Los Angeles to New York is usually around $3,500, one-way.
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"We're opening up private aviation to millions more passengers," Rothchin said. "For many of them, the app is the easy way to book."
Not every jet company is convinced of the potential for apps. Todd Rome of Blue Star said that while apps can build awareness and a broader market, the ultra-wealthy clients who form the core of the private-jet market still prefer face time or phone time when booking.
"Our business has always been done person-to-person," he said. "At the end of the day, it's always been high touch and I don't think that's ever going to change."
Bradley Stewart, CEO of XOJet, the private-aviation company, said frequent users of private jets still demand a voice and person at the other end of the transaction. He said it's unlikely that very wealthy fliers will ever move solely to apps for bookings and flight management.
"Most people who are dropping $20,000 or $30,000 on a transaction want the security of knowing that there's someone on the other end of the line," Stewart said. "If things go wrong or if something happens, they have a lifeline."
He added that his customers are not requesting apps and "they're telling me they're not shifting away from dealing with another voice."
Still, many private jet companies are racing to develop new apps. Gotham Jets, the New York-based aviation advisory and management company, has started working on an app that it hopes to launch early next year. The company said apps allow retail customers to get direct access to real-time information on the availability of planes and flights—data that used to be reserved mainly for brokers and charter companies.
"There is definitely a market there for apps," said Gotham Jets CEO Gianpaolo De Felice. "You're instantly bringing all that information to thousands of consumers. Imagine a group of friends who want to go to Miami. They click on the app and see a plane available at Teterboro tomorrow morning for a certain price. It becomes more attractive."