Aviation News Item: 09729

16th Jun 2010

Source: flightglobal.com

European air taxi company Blink has launched an online booking service that it hopes will raise brand awareness and attract a new breed of customers to its trailblazing venture.

The London-based company began operations two years ago as one of the first of a new genre of pan-European, low-cost operators. While a number of rival ventures have collapsed, Blink has continued to grow - albeit slower than expected - and now operates a fleet of seven Cessna Citation Mustangs. More of the entry-level types may be added to the fleet this year.

"We are inundated with enquiries everyday, so it made sense to invest in a pricing algorithm and booking engine," says Blink co-founder and managing director Peter Leiman. "This system should help to widen the customer net by making private aviation more accessible. Hopefully, it will expose the Blink brand to those people who could use business aircraft but are not doing so for whatever reason."

So far Blink has drawn its customers through aircraft brokers, online charter marketplaces such as Avinode and through word of mouth. "These distribution channels are very important to our business and always will be," says Leiman. "After all, it will take at least 10 years for online booking of private jets to become an industry standard. It's one thing to pioneer and quite another to take people with you."

The challenge for Blink is to attract increasing numbers of visitors to its website. "We have to raise the viral awareness of our brand. Until now our website has been informational, now it is transactional. We have to get that message across."

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