First it was Richard Branson, then Stelios revolutionised the way we fly. Now entrepreneur Clive Jackson’s affordable private jet innovation is taking off.
Victor was set up by Clive when he was told his regular commercial airline route to Majorca was being scrapped. Through research, he discovered that on average 45% of jets flying in Europe are empty and so created the website www.flyvictor.com where charterers can sell spare seats to the public.
His critics in the airline industry said it couldn’t be done, but because of Victor’s success in Europe they’ve now more than 1000 members. Backed by a recent fundraise by investors, Asia and the United States are now next on his radar.
Clive Jackson said: “Our most popular routes served the hotspots for second home owners – Mallorca and Cote D’Azur and business centres like Geneva and Zurich.”
Victor is aimed at people who normally travel business class or want an upgrade for a special occasion. Victor members join for free and register their interest to access over 40,000 route combinations from 940 airports. Prices for individual seats can cost from £750 on more popular routes.
Passengers avoid the queues by using exclusive private airports such as London Biggin Hill and are whisked to their jet within minutes of arriving – they can even bring their pets into the cabin with them and enjoy first class treatment.
The knock on benefit is that the economies of Victor destinations as well as regions with private airports in the UK benefit from additional high end tourism thanks to Clive’s idea.
“Victor now has the largest contracted fleet of private jets in Europe, we offer over 200 aircraft flying to a choice of nearly 1000 airports, departing from 30 different airports in the UK alone," Mr Jackson said.
