“We are turning travelling by private jets into a unique experience”
IN 2016, THE COMPANY HAD A TURNOVER OF US S$17 MILLION
Founded in 2014 by Kanika Tekriwal, JetSetGo has in less than three years transformed the face of luxury air travel in the country. While her orthodox Marwari family never wanted her to step into the aviation sector, Tekriwal knew this is what she wanted to do.
True calling
She did her graduation in visual communication design in Mumbai and went to the UK for an MBA, only due to family pressure, but that didn’t deter her from following her heart. “In Mumbai, I started designing hoardings and newspaper ads for a company. One day I had to get some approvals from my boss and walked into his office, where I spotted a model building with a helipad on top. When I looked at it, I told him that the helipad was wrongly placed. The next day he asked to set up the aviation vertical of his company, and that was the beginning of everything,” she says.
The challenge
After completing her MBA, she went back to Bhopal. A persistent ache in her arm led her to discover a cancerous tumour in her neck. However, instead of killing her spirit, a year plus of painful chemotherapy and radiation gave Tekriwal the time to ideate and plan for JetSetGo. A year after full recovery, she packed her bags against her parent’s wishes and moved to Delhi, where she started working as a consultant to private jet owners, helping them buy and maintain planes.
Flights of fantasy
While initially a lot of people didn’t understand the concept of booking a luxury jet online or through an app, Tekriwal won support for her venture from affluential people within six months of launch. JetSetGo offers jet and helicopter services to different types of customers. From high net worth tourists who are short on time and want to visit exotic places that are not accessible by commercial planes to corporate houses, with offices in remote locations such as Rourkela, Odisha. It costs `10 lakh to travel in a sixseater private jet from Delhi to Mumbai.