 |
|
Virgin Charter has
become an important component to solving the many inherent environmental and
logistical problems found in the private aviation business today. With a
founding team of executives from Google, Expedia, eBay and Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, the company aims to minimize the environmental impact of private air
travel through a proprietary scheduling system designed to reduce empty legs
(the return trips without passengers that chartered planes often make to their
home airports).
Sellers can go online and make their inventory available to a larger customer
base, without changing the way they currently do business. Buyers can locate
available aircraft, negotiate pricing, purchase private air travel, and manage
their entire trip online. By bringing transparency and efficiency to a
fragmented industry, Virgin Charter can significantly reduce the market
inefficiencies that lead to empty legs, thereby greatly reducing fuel waste and
allowing the market to grow without causing additional pollution.
In summer 2006, Funk Ventures Acceleration Partners
partnered with CEO Scott Duffy to build a business around his vision for Smart
Charter, the company's original name. During the 9-month Acceleration period,
Funk Ventures Acceleration Partners and Duffy created the foundation for what
was ultimately going to become Virgin Charter. With the company's business and
financial models refined, key founding team members infused, and a goal set to
reduce the environmental impact of air travel, Smart Charter was poised for a
strategic acquisition by Sir Richard Branson's
Virgin Group, giving birth to
Virgin Charter in June 2007.
|
