Volavia gears up for its second round of funding

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Picture of the Volavia app interface.

Picture of the Volavia app interface. Courtesy of Volavia.

Volavia, the integrated booking and payment platform, revealed its plans to raise funding this month as part of its next stage of development. The app is being brought to market by founders of Volanteus, 51North Group and Seedcloud – the jet charter, management company and tech advisory business, respectively.

Positioned as an end-to-end travel solutions app, Volavia enables customers to keep track of their bookings, communications, and itinerary in the same place. It also aims to make payment through cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum available to users.

The idea for the platform arose two years ago, after Volanteus director Mark Green discovered operators and brokers were not very receptive to blockchain or cryptocurrency. “They thought it was to do with illegal activity – terrorism or something.”

Since then the industry has incorporated more tech-based platforms, such as Avinode and Tuvoli, on a daily basis. By using Volavia, customers can look to reduce the risks of fraudulent activities as well as ensure contractual obligations.

Green said smart contracts guarantee payments are made to parties involved in a transaction provided their agreement is set up via blockchain.

He said: “The terms of payment – and any other contractual obligation – can be set within each smart contract. Whether that be 30 days, payment on delivery, or even pre-payment. Each obligation can be set as a timeline, and once the timeline for each item has expired, then the obligations automatically take place.”

Bernhard Fragner, CEO, GlobeAir, said: “Volavia will help the private aviation industry grow through facilitating booking procedures and offering a fast process of payments and client data. As GlobeAir is the first private jet operator in Europe to offer a smart, fast and easy online booking process for crypto currencies, we are looking forward to this revolutionary application.”

The founders are in their second round of funding, before an estimated rollout with the app in the first quarter of next year. Neil Cochrane, chairman, 51North Group and one of the co-founders of the app, said a fully functioning version could be expected at the end of next year. He added there might a market for the app in the yachting industry.

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