New Jetsmarter APP Lets Gamblers, Casino Execs Fly in Style for Cheap Fares
A new Florida-based company called JetSmarter has just the ticket for gamblers across the U.S. who like to take off for Las Vegas on a whim and travel in style: it has created an app so you can nab last-minute seats on private jets for stunningly low fares!
The company is the creation of a Soviet-born American entrepreneur named Sergey Petrossov, who was born in Moscow in the late 1980's, emigrated to the U.S. and now has started three successful companies, with JetSmarter (www.jetsmarter.com) being just the latest.
Gambling911.com caught up with Petrossov last week and asked him about his company and his app and how gamblers can take advantage of it all.
Here is a transcript of that interview:
Gambling911.com: What does your company JetSmarter do? Say I'm a businessman who needs a last-minute flight from Los Angeles to New York, what can your company do for me and why should I take advantage?
Sergey Petrossov: JetSmarter is a mobile app and online booking system that gives access to the largest private jet marketplace, offering instant pricing and availability for flights around the world. Similar to an "uber" but for private jets, users can view available carriers and in as little as six hours fly to the location they desire, without the hassle of speaking with a pilot or a charterer over the phone.
G9: Besides making the app, does JetSmarter own airplanes or have any other interests in the aviation industry?
SP: We do not own airplanes, rather we are a marketplace that connects buyers and sellers. The sellers are the air carriers. Our end goal is to reshape how all people fly and thus create a cost-effective alternative to commercial air travel with a much higher level or quality. All aviation started out as private and in time, JetSmarter will move the industry back to its roots.
G9: Why did your begin begin, where is it located and how many employees are there:
SP: JetSmarter started in 2013 and is located in Boca Raton, Florida. We currently have 36 employees and are growing every month.
G9: Why did you start the company and what gave you the idea for the app?
SP: In 2009, I began flying private after selling my first IT company and quickly came to realize that the private jet industry was very archaic. Its brick and mortar process of picking up the phone, waiting hours and speaking to numerous different people in order to charter a jet was outdated and inconvenient. In 2012, when ridesharing apps were gaining popularity, I spoke to the carriers I had established relationships with and we discussed how large of an impact an app to charter a private plane would have on the industry. In August of 2012 we made that a reality and created the beta version of JetSmarter, sharing it with an exclusive group of industry experts and frequent private jet users. The minds behind JetSmarter have a combined experience of more than 100 years in private air travel and are credited with implementing successful projects for NASA, Nokia Russia, Microsoft, Mercedes Benz and BMW. Today we have surpassed 200,000 downloads in the app store since its global launch last year and expect to have 10 million users by 2016.
G9: What is your personal background?
SP: I am 26, was born in Moscow and grew up in South Florida and attended the University of Florida. In addition to JetSmarter and investing in a few startups, I created two other businesses--the Federal System of Distance Education and LiveContact. I sold my first IT company, LiveContact, in 2009, when I was 21. After that I started flying private every now and then and that's how I got acquainted with the industry.
G9: Many of Gambling911.com's readers are online or Las Vegas casino executives. How could they benefit from the services your company provides?
SP: They could use us to fly back home, or even better, they could partner with JetSmarter to provide our services to their high rollers. We have special enterprise features that allow casinos to see all the empty legs going to Las Vegas from the cities where the high rollers are, thus allowing the casinos to invite their high rollers when empty legs are available, which lowers costs and increases return on investment. Now casinos can invite VIP guests intelligently, based on the supply of aircraft in the market that matches the hometowns of the VIP's.
G9: Finally, we've heard about your cheap fares between Los Angeles and Las Vegas--what's the deal on that?
SP: There are plenty of empty legs between LA and Vegas for $1,000. These are on four- or five-seat passenger jets, so if you break it down by seat that's just $200 or $250 a seat.
By Tom Somach
Gambling911.com Staff Writer
