Flapper announces plan to commence operations in Mexico

Flapper, considered the first boutique private airline in Brazil, has announced its intention to open Mexican operations in the second quarter of 2020. The company cites a large domestic market and low utilization of technology as the key motives behind selecting Mexico as its first international market.

Paul Malicki, Flapper’s CEO, is confident that it will leave a permanent positive impact on the local business aviation scene. “Mexican market is attractive for us for a number of reasons, including large domestic fleet, proximity to the US, and the existence of a private aviation hub in Toluca Airport,” says Malicki. “At the same time, the faces the same challenges as Brazil, with little utilization of technology and large fragmentation of the air taxi segment. We intend to turn private aviation into the mainstream travel option and increase the size of the existing market” he continued.

More than 35% of the customers of Flapper have never flown private before, according to Malicki. By offering seats in general aviation aircraft and simplifying the charter booking process, Flapper claims to increase the use of such services, especially among corporations and end clients. The app, which currently counts 160 thousand users in Brazil, is yet to be localized to Spanish language and the local currency – the key project that the company undertook for 2020.

As of today, Flapper has already registered its first 10 air taxi operators and is in advance discussions with the Mexican investors who will finance its expansion. It evaluates the size of the market to be around 700 million dollars. Its plans include offering high-season flights between Toluca and Acapulco, as well as offering “empty legs” across the country. The proprietary quotation system will be used by charter clients who can receive prices in real time.