Online booking platform Returnjet is widening its net to operators and is generating between 200 and 250 requests a day on its web site. Aviation director Steve Westlake states that the company is looking to be 'hot on the heels' of Avinode, and to become the Google of the private jet booking world.

“Roughly 80 per cent of our quotes are coming from the US and Europe, as you would expect,” he says. “There is no monthly subscription and it is completely free for everybody to use.”

Many of the foremost operators in Europe have signed up to the system. One advocate of the technology comes from the GlobeAir customer care team, who say: “With bookings already confirmed, Returnjet is shaping up to be a very valuable source of new business. The quoting process is efficient and quick, the support is great and the daily administration easy to handle.”

Westlake says that in Europe the biggest proportion of demand is for VLJ to midsize, and he is pleased to see the system come to life. “We have invested a few million dollars and three years to build it,” he concludes.