AvHopper has launched a service that aims to be ‘an ops department in your pocket’. Authorised company representative Corey Bothwell says: “The aviation world is made up of disparate services on the operator side and the owner side. It’s a very decentralised world, and we believe in a world where it can all live in one place. To lower the barrier to entry for owner operators, small owners and small operators - people that have one or two aircraft maybe - to really operate their aircraft like the professionals. That’s the vision.

“We don’t outsource the service itself to an operator or management company. Let’s say you own a Cessna Citation. You’re a successful businessperson, and you travel around Europe, the United States or the UK, primarily for your business. Perhaps you have someone else fly you personally or perhaps you actually fly the aircraft yourself. You need services. You need fuel, you need a flight plan, you need ground handling every once in a while, and you might need permits, all the things that go into a trip. But if you’re a small-time person, you might not know where to get all of those things. You might not have the ability to centralise everything you need for such a trip in one place. That’s what we offer.”

Bothwell believes owner operators need a 'high touch' but personalised solution that allows them to function with the same standards that a larger operation might enforce through teams of employees and manual processes. Inspite of only being set up earlier this year, AvHopper claims to have had a lot of positive feedback so far. Its flagship product is a fuel solution, which offers a way for owner operators to look around Europe and plan their fuel spend, which includes taxes. “We saw this opportunity to build on the fuel product with flight plans, ground handling, taxis and so on,” Bothwell explains. “We wanted to build a home for aircraft where you track all of these things, all the spending, scheduling and so on. We want owner operators to be performing to the same standard as AOC operators while maintaining control.”

‘Transparency’ is a term we hear quite often in the aviation world. Bothwell says AvHopper meets the standard: “The reality is that transparency is something we have seen take place in the tech world, while in the aviation world we still have a long way to go. Transparency for us is the real deal, so all of our prices are listed on our web site. There’s no negotiation over quotes or haggling of management contracts; it’s completely a la carte, so you pay for exactly what you need. For one monthly fee it’s taken care of, and that's the flexibility we’re after. We know that not every owner operator is the same.

“We’re a European company so we’ll be starting in Europe. I think a lot of young companies can get into trouble when they try to do too much too fast. We’re really focused on our American and European customer base – that’s who we want to serve and that’s where we’re best. Beyond that, we’ll see.”