When Alexander Müller and Sven Loga decided to set up their own brokerage company, they wanted to work directly with end clients to provide private jet charter solutions in northern Germany, a region where no charter broker existed at that time.

They launched Hamburg-based Elbjets in April 2021, to help what is currently a predominantly Northern European client base book short and long flights to popular European locations across Spain, France, Italy and the UK.

Despite a less than favourable economic climate at the time of launch, the company has already tasted success by focusing on three main pillars: open lines of communication with clients; a high level of customer service; and the implementation of modern fintech technologies to enable fast, smooth payments.

The biggest challenge when setting up the company was dealing with the German authorities during the Covid pandemic. "It usually takes around three to four weeks to finish all of the necessary administration," says Loga. "However, due to the global pandemic, Elbjets wasn't ready to operate after over three months had passed. Combined with the lengthy wait to get bank accounts up and running, the team was worried it wouldn't be ready for the busy summer season."

Before the pandemic, clients often booked flights up to a year in advance but as restrictions on travel began to loosen during the summer of 2021, booking times were slashed to under one month, or in some cases as little as 24 hours. The combination of last-minute bookings, high demand, limited aircraft and surging fuel prices fuelled the emergence of a lucrative market and the two founders knew they needed to act fast to grab their share.

After a nerve-racking launch in a climate of rising fuel prices and widespread economic uncertainty, Müller and Loga were thrilled to issue their first Elbjets invoice. After arranging the flight and meeting the client in person at the airport, they felt their efforts had been worthwhile.

“If I could go back, I think I would have started the business earlier," says Müller. "There’s such high demand now, especially here in the Northern German market. A lot of people want to fly and to have great service. Clients like having a person they can talk to, someone with honest opinions who’s able to find the good aircraft and provide an all-inclusive service.”

The surge of interest in private jet travel has meant that aircraft manufacturers can't keep up with demand, especially in a time of widespread supply chain issues. It appears that the industry is entering a period of potentially massive growth, as a younger generation of millionaires become interested in the perks of flying by private jet. So the secret to doing well lies in the fact that many of them are familiar with very different ways of paying than their older counterparts.  

"The younger generation wants to use more modern payment methods, and operators and brokers need to embrace fintech-style technologies to ensure that bookings go as smoothly as possible," he continues. "Younger clients want to sign contracts digitally, and also pay with their mobile using methods like crypto, as well as with cards and digital wallets."

According to Elbjet payment provider ECOMMPAY, data reveals that up to 20 per cent of private jet passengers now choose to pay for flights using crypto when possible; a trend that shows no sign of slowing in the midst of geopolitical uncertainties and shifting demographics. 

So embracing fintech has paid dividends, and with plenty of new clients enquiring about flights and a busy summer of last-minute bookings on the horizon, the company's decision to provide the latest payment technologies looks to be a wise choice.

"Our payment platform means that we can handle short notice bookings without hesitation. If we receive a request on a bank holiday or weekend, we need to ensure all transactions will quickly go to the right places. If we hadn't implemented a modern payment solution, we simply wouldn't be able to handle these types of transactions and would lose the revenue to the competition," says Müller.

A common issue within the private aviation industry is that large sums of money often need to be moved at short notice. Typically, clients will try to split payments into multiple bank transfers when faced with low transaction limits, triggering anti-fraud systems and resulting in declined payments. After partnering with a fintech payment provider, Elbjets can now easily and quickly accept funds from clients worldwide, integrating multiple payment methods into their booking process and using technologies such as Open Banking for instant account-to-account payments.

When Müller and Loga wrote their business plan they were fairly pessimistic and tried to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Now, after just over a year in business, the pair have exceeded their own modest expectations and continue to increase their client base and core offering.

"Over the next five years, we plan to grow Elbjets into a 10-15 person team, targeting the German and Northern European market and eventually offering bespoke holidays with chauffeur services, yacht charters and helicopter transfers," says Loda. "We hope to tap into an industry whose growth shows few signs of stalling."