Startup Battlefield Europe 2018 Winner: Wingly, the Airbnb for private flights

TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield Europe 208 chose its finalist. The TechCrunch team has taken feedback from expert judges and decided that Wingly, a flight sharing platform connecting private pilots with passengers to share the cost of a flight is the winner. The award is €25,000 in equity-free money. 

Testing the AIRBNB of Aviation

Private pilots with light aircraft ranging from two to six seats are zipping across the UK — and beyond — all the time. As with private cars, there is often a lot of spare capacity being moved around. While terrestrially those assets have traditionally been filled from time to time by hitch-hikers, pilots like to know a little more about potential passengers.

So Wingly aims to connect aviators with amateurs like me who need to get from A to B but have some flexibility about where A and B happen to be, and can work around the pilot’s timing. For the passenger it promises an exhilarating experience along with transportation. And for the pilot? Carrying one or more passengers helps keep the cost of their indulgence down. It’s the Airbnb of aviation.

You can also bid for a flight — saying roughly where you need to be, and when, and hoping that one of the flying community is willing to help.

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Concrete Example of Transition to the Circular Economy

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The organisation also requires a scan of your passport, even if you are going no further than the west of England. Unlike commercial flights, you have to specify your weight, and that of your baggage, in advance, so the pilot can make weight-and-balance calculations.

A flight from London to Le Touquet in northern France starts at just £61 one way, for instance, and sun-seekers can fly from Cannes to Majorca for just £131.