Private Jets have been a distinguishable characteristic of the top 1% for decades, but the
founders of a start-up based in Paris, France have a remarkable desire to render private jet
transport accessible to everyone.
The co-founder of Wingly, Emeric de Waziers, says “It is too often perceived that aviation is just for the rich, but people don’t realize that private aviation ranges from large corporate jets to smaller aviation that can cost around £100 for a one hour flight.”
According to de Waziers, the real motive at Wingly is to “democratize aviation” by making flights more accessible for both passengers as well as pilots. The way that this occurs synonymously is due to cost sharing by both demographics.
One of the driving factors for the trio, which includes de Waziers, Bertrand Joab-Cornu and Lars Klein, pertained to the boom in the ride sharing economy. The sharing economy is projected to be worth around $335 billion by 2025. Popular examples include AirBnB, Uber, Lyft, and many more.
The co-founders encountered many issues upon launching, namely legal issues in the country
of origin; France. Wingly was forced to temporarily halt operations due to the legality of
flightsharing.
As per co-founder Emeric de Waziers, “We had to do a lot of work within Europe to show that
safety is a central concern for the company, and we proved what positive impact our company
could have on the private aviation market.” Wingly was forced to prove that the pilots on the
platform were not making a profit, and thus were not classified as commercial pilots prior to
opening up operations once again.
Currently, Wingly’s pilots sign up for two primary reasons: in order to gain more flight
experience, as well as to lower the cost of flight. The co-founders of Wingly hope for the
company’s motives to spark an importance on CO2 emissions.
The company was endorsed by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, often referred to
as the EASA, and signed a charter with the union in 2016.