A VERY HAPPY HANGAR HAPPY HOUR
“Are you the guys who can help me Airbnb my airplane?”
When the last wine tumbler was collected, the space squared away as we’d found it, the KinectAir team looked around the empty room at Renton Municipal Airport on June 23 and let out a collective “Wow.” We had just thrown our first Hangar Happy Hour and it was a huge success.
Not only had we gathered together with a great group of local aviation enthusiasts, but we had just firmly expanded our network to include more than a dozen new faces seriously interested in private aircraft fractional ownership, equity investment and even flying for us as a pilot.
Daniel Gizzi, our Chief Operating Officer and all around Cirrus and Pilatus expert spearheading our Pioneer Program, reported that his voice hurt from talking so much with people asking him how to buy a private plane, how much it costs to buy a private aircraft like a Cirrus or Pilatus, and what the most cost effective way to own an aircraft is? Conor Whitehead, our Director of Flight Operations and badass pilot in his own right, had a few droplets of sweat still clinging to his forehead from leading tour after tour of the brand new Cirrus SR22T – the ultimate entry level private aircraft – parked down on the sun bathed tarmac. Lisa Christensen, our Chief Experience Officer who until recently was piloting Special Air Missions for the top brass in Washington DC, was still smiling from it all.
"We want everyone on the planet to benefit from the impact of direct air travel."
Earlier this spring during one of our virtual meetings about fractional aircraft ownership costs and how to buy something akin to a private jet, someone suggested we throw a little happy hour at one of the local airports in the Seattle area. Our company was planning its first ever face to face gathering there, where many of us, quite remarkably, would be meeting for the first time! It would be a great opportunity to promote our Pioneer Program, which makes it much easier to buy a private airplane through our promise of ‘ownership that pays’. Even going one step further and making the dream of aircraft ownership more attainable by offering the option to buy a private airplane share, reducing the admin and cost, through KinectAir’s fractional ownership scheme.
Just as the blades of a propeller work together to create thrust, no blade more important than the other, our event came together with teams in the US and UK and with the generous help of The Flight Academy at Renton Municipal Airport too. We kicked off what we hope will be a long standing tradition – the KinectAir Hangar Happy Hour Series.
A little after an hour into it I walked into the space and was nearly blown over. In front of me was a sea of people, all sharing their flying stories and chatting about the joy of flight and the dream to buy a private jet or turboprop. The room buzzed with talk of how private aviation can and should be shared as the original pioneers of flight had dreamed – instead of put away high on a shelf, available only to the elite.
"We want people to discover the joy of flight again and own their journey..."
We had all spent more than a year hiding away in our own bubbles and now, with the help of vaccines, we were finally traveling, connecting and sharing our vision to give more people the ability to fly. To allow communities, airplanes and airfields far and wide to become the local to local connections that will save time and reshape the experience of personal air travel for many more people than they do today. It felt like a huge moment for the team to hear that message resonate so loudly.
“We want everyone on the planet to benefit from the impact of direct air travel,” said our CEO, Jonathan Evans. “Together with aircraft owners like you, we’re building the project that finally changes how people think about and access aviation: locally, on-demand – the power of flight in your hands. It is a magnificent project to work on with this passionate team of aviators and software leaders assembled here today.”
“The pandemic is giving us this huge opportunity to re-orient ourselves and choose a more efficient way to connect, in the time and space of our choosing. That’s a big part of the movement we are creating at KinectAir,” he added as he left the event that night feeling fortified. “We want people to discover the joy of flight again and own their journey – and it turns out we are not alone in that dream! Our network is expanding and I now see the people of the greater Seattle area as a part of this movement we are creating.”
We hoped that there would be plenty of interest from owners present and future to join us in person and there was. We underestimated the need for this type of gathering and thus want to keep the party going. Join us at our next Hangar Happy Hour or event; stay tuned for details.
Contact Daniel@kinectair.com for more information on the Pioneer Program or to get on the list for the next event, visit our Events page to sign up now!
