Story ID: 338
Online Helo Booking Service Launches In UK
By: Mark Huber
Caption: Flyt Looking To Fill Empty Charter Seats 
Word Count: 194
Flyt, a new digital helicopter booking service, now allows customers to view quotes from a range of UK helicopter operators and to book online via desktop, tablet, or smartphone. The service was created by helicopter pilot Andy King and SaxonAir co-founder James Palmer and is located at the London Heliport in Battersea, with technical offices in Manchester.

“We believe [Flyt] will encourage private owners whose machines are looked after by management companies to get on board and offset their operational costs with charter,” said King.

The service is, in particular, targeting empty seats on shared charters. According to Flyt, the online customer experience is similar to that of booking a ground-based ridesharing service such as Lyft or Uber. A customer enters flight details, and Flyt calculates cost and travel time, identifies an operator in real time, confirms the operator, sends the details to the customer, and makes the payment to complete the transaction.

Flyt said its extensive helicopter flight database enables it to realistically model flight times and costs. The company has obtained "substantial" capital backing from investors, including mobile technology group Apadmi Ventures and EarlyMarket.