Story ID: 
App-based Vaunt Offers Empty Leg Membership Program
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: Company looks to bring the thrill of private aviation to non-traditional customers
Word Count: 442
Vaunt—a mobile application firm that launched last month—is looking to put a different spin on the industry-wide problem of empty passenger seats on private jet repositioning flights. The company, which charges an annual, all-inclusive $1,000 membership fee, has partnered with Georgia-based fractional and jet card company Volato, giving Vaunt access to its HondaJet fleet schedule to market empty leg flights.
“Many people in the past have tried to build empty leg programs and a lot of them have failed," explained Vaunt president Nicholas Cooper. “Essentially, the value proposition traditionally is, 'Let's market empty legs at a discount to people who fly private,'” he told AIN. “We think that value proposition is broken because those that fly private, they want to fly on their schedule where and when it makes sense with the aircraft that makes sense for that mission.”
Instead, the company is marketing those flights to those who normally do not fly privately, but are curious about it. “There’s a big market out there of people who aspire to fly private, but don’t have the means, and may never have the means due to the inherent cost of flying private,” said Cooper. “It’s kind of like a hack where people can experience private flight at an affordable cost.”
Cooper noted that nearly 2,500 empty legs have been put in the Vaunt app since its testing began earlier this year. They are typically listed two to three days in advance of the flight, meaning members must react and plan quickly for the one-way trips.
Those who submit their names for a flight are then run through the company’s algorithm, with the winner typically confirmed a day before departure. There is no additional fee for the flight, and the recipient receives use of the entire aircraft, allowing them to bring up to three extra passengers. Vaunt members receive the full Volato customer experience, complete with a service concierge to coordinate the departure logistics, and there is no limit as to how many flights they can use.
“What we really care about is delivering value to our members,” said Cooper. “We think a big part of that is, if they just take one flight a year at that $1,000 per annum, that’s a great amount of value that we are delivering.”
The company has placed members on 64 flights since the app went live early last month and is committed to ensuring that its platform works smoothly and offers a pleasant experience. Cooper added that he expects to expand Vaunt through partnerships with other charter operators.