Jet-hailing company expands to open new office
Praising Florida as fertile ground to grow the aviation industry, Gov. Rick Scott attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Jet Smarter’s new office in the Broward Financial Center in downtown Fort Lauderdale on Friday morning.
Jet Smarter was created in 2013 by Sergey Petrossov, a 2009 University of Florida graduate and native of Russia. In the past three years, the company has expanded globally and now offers private jet services in more than 170 countries, according to a news release by the Greater
Fort Lauderdale Alliance, Broward County’s primary economic development organization.
Much as the ride-hailing car service Uber lets consumers use their smartphone to summon a vehicle, Jet Smarter offers a mobile app that lets users charter a jet from any location in the world. It doesn’t own jets but works with a network of charter companies.
The company has expanded rapidly, adding more than100 jobs in South Florida in the past 18months.
In February, Jet Smarter announced it had secured $26.1 million in funding from existing investors, including the Saudi Royal Family, bringing total investment raised by the company to $52 million.
Scott announced the expansion during a trade mission at the Farnborough International Airshow in London during the summer, the release said. “Thanks to our low tax and business-friendly environment, aviation and aerospace companies are major job creators in our state,” the release quoted Scott as saying. “We will continue to encourage businesses to create more opportunities for our families so Florida can become a global destination for jobs.”