Saudi Royals And Entertainment Bigwigs Invest In Private Jet App

lt;pgt;A private jet startup company has secured $20 million in funding from donors including the Saudi Royal Family and several unnamed, wealthy members of the entertainment industry.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;JetSmarter is an app which allows customers to book onto private jets or even charter their own planes, and has been lt;a href=quot;http://tech.co/jetsmarter-uber-affordable-private-jets-2014-08quot; rel=quot;nofollowquot;gt;compared to ridesharing app Uberlt;/agt; for utilising the sharing economy and allowing would-be flyers to hop onto empty legs of private flights.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;The company announced on Thursday that it had raised the money in its latest fundraising drive and would be using it to expand the services it offers and open more bases in Europe, the Middle East, South America and Asia.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;The app was launched in 2013 and currently commands a fleet of more than 3,000 private aircraft, according to the lt;a href=quot;https://jetsmarter.comquot; rel=quot;nofollowquot;gt;JetSmarterlt;/agt; website. Users pay $8,999 (8,196 euros) per year for unlimited access to private flights and get free helicopter rides to airports in New York to catch their flights.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;As well as its Florida headquarters and New York office, the company currently has bases in Riyadh, Dubai, Moscow and Zurich.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Prince Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the chairman of Arabia Markets Agency, lt;a href=quot;http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jetsmarter-raises-20-million-in-series-b-300117273.htmlquot; rel=quot;nofollowquot;gt;saidlt;/agt; that the Saudi Royal Family was quot;thrilled to be an investorquot; and that the app had the potential to quot;revolutionise the industry.quot;lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Other key investors included executives from global investment bank Goldman Sachs and social media giants Twitter, as well as music and entertainment industry figures. Business Insider lt;a href=quot;http://uk.businessinsider.com/private-travel-startup-jetsmarter-raised-20-million-from-jay-z-and-saudi-royal-family-2015-7quot; rel=quot;nofollowquot;gt;reportedlt;/agt; that Jay-Z was among investors, and a JetSmarter spokesperson confirmed to lt;emgt;Newsweeklt;/emgt; that the hip-hop star was a regular user of the service — though he would not verify whether or not Jay-Z contributed to this round of funding.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;JetSmarter CEO Sergey Petrossov told lt;emgt;Newsweeklt;/emgt; that the app was designed to quot;democratise the private aviation industryquot; and make flying more pleasurable. Petrossov adds that the company was on track to run 10,000 occupied flights this year.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;The private aviation industry has become a popular target for startups. U.K.-based firm Victor, which lets private jet owners rent out their vehicles to willing consumers, recently lt;a href=quot;http://uk.businessinsider.com/private-jet-startup-victor-acquires-youngjets-takes-5-million-funding-2015-7?r=USIR=Tquot; rel=quot;nofollowquot;gt;acquiredlt;/agt; U.S. rival YoungJets and announced $5 million (4.6 million euros) in new funding, bringing its total to $13 million (11.9 million euros). A Ibiza-London weekend flight for 12 passengers costs more than £10,000 ($15,500), according to the company#039;s lt;a href=quot;https://twitter.com/flyvictor/status/624173547905241088quot; rel=quot;nofollowquot;gt;Twitterlt;/agt; account.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;lt;a href=quot;http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidewalt/2013/02/13/thirty-amazing-facts-about-private-jets/quot; rel=quot;nofollowquot;gt;Forbeslt;/agt; reported that, in 2012, the U.S. made up 49.7 percent of the global market for private jets, with Europe in second place at 20.8 percent. The average cost of chartering a jet depends on the model, but chartering the popular Cessna Citation Excel jet costs an average of $3,388 (3,087 euros) per hour.lt;/pgt;