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Bangalore-based marketplace for private jets and helicopters, JetSetGo Aviation Services Pvt. Ltd, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Puneet Dalmia, managing director of Dalmia Bharat Ltd (invested in his personal capacity).
This investment comes after Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh-funded YouWeCan Ventures, invested in JetSetGo.
The company will use the funds to expand its ground presence in key airports, launch inter-city private jet shuttles, air ambulance services and an online platform for helicopter bookings.
Founded in 2013 by Kanika Tekriwal and Sudheer Perla, JetSetGo, is aimed at revolutionising the private aviation business by redefining the experience for private charter customers. This is done by seamlessly creating marketplaces that join the dots between charter customers & operators on one hand and service providers with operators on the other.
Speaking on the development, Kanika Tekriwal, CEO & co-founder of JetSetGo said, “We are trying to simply bring aviation back to its roots and are putting the customer in front of everything else. With this singular focus on delivering superior value for every flight and for every customer, we are gaining loyalty of a genre of customers who probably are the most difficult to please generally.”
The company has done 75 trips since its launch and the average cost of travel is INR 25,000 – INR 1 Cr. It has 5 jet planes and 2 helicopters which are mostly for top executives of large corporations and celebrities.
JetSetGo now works with almost all non-scheduled aircraft operators in the country not only in improving utilization levels but also in several instances driving operational and cost synergies to enhance profitability.
Sudheer Perla, co-founder of JetSetGo said, “In aggregate, the private aviation industry in India is losing value. We are trying to change that. People generally misunderstand private air travel to be discretionary or only an indulgent form of travel. If one were to take a cross section of Indian corporates and compare those that have consistently over performed over the years or contributed in higher proportion to economic growth especially in Tier 2 or 3 locations, one would see almost all relying on private aviation. Whilst India continues to build, it is imperative that Corporate India has the flexibility to bypass various infrastructure bottlenecks to get the flexibility and productivity gains required to enable a rapid broad based transformation of the country we all aspire for.”
India’s regional aircraft fleet is estimated to grow from 55 in 2011 to 261 by 2025 at a compounded annual growth rate of 12-13%, according to a 2012 report by consultancy firm AT Kearney.
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