For our Perspectives series, we talk to experienced business aviation industry professionals who share with us their individual insights and offer a window into their world. This month's interviewee is Laurent Vallet, CEO of rotary marketplace Get Heli. The company celebrated its recent expansion by appearing at ACE21, which took place at London Biggin Hill airport last month.

“It was great to see so many people at ACE; there were lots of good vibes, and I think the industry really wanted to forget what has happened with COVID. The signs are very good. Some people have disappeared during the pandemic, which is obviously not great. But I was amazed at the number of booths that were focusing on digital. When we launched Get Heli three years ago, we were one of the only online software providers, and now the digital offering is much more, especially SaaS for jets, although we're still the only marketplace that's purely rotary. So there is a trend. Suddenly people are interested in digital and open-minded about the possibilities. Since COVID, some businesses are much more open minded about our technology and going digital in general. The eVTOL market is being ramped up and scaled up, it’s everywhere. With all of this taken together, people are thinking that the wind might change direction, and it’s time to start embracing the 21st century. I’m happy about that, because I’m sitting on the right side of the fence.

Industry professionals have been approaching Get Heli and wanting to get into the market through our API. Getting into helicopters takes time because you need to understand the operators and fleets, and how everything works. It has been three years of work for us. By using our platform, it fast-tracks these companies into the helicopter charter market, since we've essentially done the groundwork for them. We have aggregated a very fragmented supply, and we're going to be expanding doing this. We already have a variety of helicopter operators registered to the platform, ready for brokers to access with one single request.

Get Heli is now looking to use its API to enable quotes for customers directly on B2C platforms and with online brokers. Its objective is to have B2C platforms, including for helicopters and eVTOLs, powered by the platform. B2C platforms/online brokers only need to focus on their marketing and customer acquisition. They shouldn't have to spend time delivering real-time, competitive prices or worrying about the logistics of the booking or payments. The background work is done by us. Even though we started with helicopters, we've always kept eVTOLs in mind, and we're ready for the transition. We are ready to connect eVTOL fleets and operators to the platform.

Since COVID, we have also had more operators coming to us, wanting to get registered with Get Heli, which is music to my ears. Now, we have the vast majority of the UK charter fleet registered. It took time for brokers to realise the value of Get Heli, but now we have big international brokers signed up. They are jet brokers, and they need to spend their time on jets, because this is where their money is. It is a waste for someone to spend a whole day arranging one single rotary flight, only to make a very small commission. With Get Heli, what had previously taken all day takes minutes. It saves brokers so much time.

Get Heli is now opening up to international operators so that they can register their fleet, and it will gradually open up to brokers region by region. The technology is ready, and we are now international. We can accept transactions in any currency, and we take into account local jurisdictions. We wanted to have enough good traction in the UK before launching more widely. Now, we are ready and on our way into the international market.”