Robert Brus FlyAnywhere Interview

Robert Brus FlyAnywhere Interview

FlyAnywhere, an Australian business, is excited to announce the launch of their new website. The innovative business concept allows travelers to connect with pilots directly to help them reach their destination with a small plane or helicopter. While traditional flights book out quickly and there is less personal interaction, FlyAnywhere allows you to meet with your pilot while guaranteeing you a flight to your destination.

'With over 1,800 airports in Australia users of the website now have the ability to maximize their travel experiences with a more personalised approach allowing them to fly out of any of those airports. By flying in a small plane or helicopter, travelers receive an experience of a lifetime on the way to their big adventure.

'Being cramped in a crowded airplane with screaming children is often considered the worst part of traveling, we simplify the travel experience to make the entire trip memorable," Robert Brus, CEO.

FlyAnywhere uses innovative technology to connect travelers with experienced personnel in the aviation industry. The easy to use system allows consumers to input their travel details to create a customized flight for their next trip. Then, up to five quotes are provided allowing the user to choose the quote that best suits their budget and needs. FlyAnywhere provides affordable travel solutions for business and pleasure. Customers benefit from savings as the website eliminates the need for a middleman as quotes are provided directly to them from the aviation businesses and pilots.

Travelers can book their flights in as little as three steps. First, users are required to fill out the booking form. Next, they are required to create their free account. Lastly, they will receive up to five quotes from potential pilots and aviation businesses. Because FlyAnywhere isn't a travel agency, consumers are not required to pay additional fees to book the flight allowing them to save more money for their trip.

'Both the major and minor airlines in Australia offer limited options, schedules and routes for travel. The objective of creating this business was to allow people to explore any part of Australia and seek adventure while also allowing them an affordable solution for business travel as well. FlyAnywhere is about providing people with an opportunity to fly anywhere in Australia and to create a once-in-a-lifetime experience with every flight," Robert Brus, CEO.

FlyAnywhere is a website that connects travelers to the tools that allow them to experience flight in an innovative way. For more information or to request a quote for an affordable flight, please visit http://www.flyanywhere.com.au

Interview with Robert Brus

Question: What inspired the creation of FlyAnywhere?

Robert Brus: FlyAnywhere was created to connect consumers to the general aviation industry. It's easy to book a flight from Sydney to Melbourne but not so easy to book a flight from Wagga Wagga to Roma.

There are over 1800 airports that you can take off and land at in Australia however only around 300 of these are serviced by the major and minor operators.

If a consumer has a requirement outside of the locations serviced by the airlines there is just no way to connect by air despite there being plenty of planes, helicopters, airports and pilots to do the job.

FlyAnywhere solves these problems by allowing consumers to create their flight and to connect with the relevant aviators that can service their needs.


Question: Can you talk us through how FlyAnywhere is different?

Robert Brus: For consumers: FlyAnywhere is truly unique as it connects consumers to Aviation Businesses and Pilots like never before. There is no other website that allows consumers to define their exact flight requirements from airports not serviced by major or minor airline operators. The FlyAnywhere website collates this information on behalf of the consumers and allows them to receive up to 5 different quotes that can meet their needs. In essence the website allows consumers to FlyAnywhere.

For aviation businesses and pilots: FlyAnywhere brings all of the opportunity for new business into one place which rationalises their advertising both off line and online. In other words "Why go advertising or searching for consumers when all of them reside at the FlyAnywhere website." All of the consumers that want and need aviation services can be found at the FlyAnywhere site reducing the cost of acquisition for a new customer significantly.

For Travel agents: Never before has the General Aviation Industry in Australia been able to connect to the travel agent industry in a meaningful way. General aviation as a whole is unable to supply a financial incentive to these businesses to place bookings since there are no fixed schedules for small planes and helicopters. The demand is certainly there but the IT infrastructure to create flights and receive commissions hasn't been until now.

While the sophistication of individual businesses may allow an integration the volume that individuals aviation businesses have is just to low to be interesting or meaningful to any travel agent, whether it is a franchise or individual business.

FlyAnywhere solves all of these problems by providing a strong financial incentive for Travel Agents to place enquiries on behalf of their clients bridging the gap between the General Aviation Industry and the Travel Agent Industry. This means that the General Aviation Industry will now benefit from the huge demand generated by the travel and tourism industry from the financial incentives provided by FlyAnywhere.


Question: Can you talk us through who uses this service?

Robert Brus: There are 3 users of the website:
1. Consumers who define where they want to travel when they can't get an RPT flight in or out of where they want to travel.
2. Aviators: Who are looking for people to take flying
3. Travel agents: Who are seeking additional revenue for their businesses and in the process better assist their clients needs with a new service.


Question: What is the benefit of personal interaction with the pilot?

Robert Brus: Personal interaction with aviators is highly important especially if the consumer request is to travel to a location that is not serviced by regular public transport. For aviators, the interaction with users is important to understand the exact requirement and set expectations. There are many things to consider and operational requirements dictate the feasibility of a flight in a small plane or helicopter.

Some things that aviators consider are: availability of fuel (AvGas isn't always available), runway suitability (may not always be paved) and alternates if the weather turns to muck. Its important for consumers to speak with aviators to ensure that expectations are met and it is important that aviators are able to offer alternatives if the exact requirement cannot be met for some reason.

Question: Where do you find customers fly, most often?

Robert Brus: It varies, many consumers have requirements to travel to locations that are not serviced by the airlines and in all of that no one place really stands out. Travel agents are always asking 'How would you like to go on a scenic flight?" so we are seeing alot of that filter through especially for the capital cities. As the business grows I'm sure some trends will start to develop, and as they do, we plan to work with councils and businesses in these areas directly.


Question: How many guests are needed for a flight?

Robert Brus: FlyAnywhere is designed for General Aviation machines and all the versatility that these small planes and helicopters allow. You may be a business person on your own needing to get somewhere quickly or a group of 8 people heading out for fun. There are plenty of small general aviation aircraft around that can meet the requirement for individual people and groups, however, once you get above 8 people you start to need bigger planes or multiple trips.

With that said there are many aviation businesses that can easily service larger numbers with bigger GA aircraft and multiple trips so if you are an individual consumer, or a group of consumers that needs to go somewhere that is not serviced by an airline, FlyAnywhere will quickly connect you to the people and businesses that can assist.


Question: Does FlyAnywhere only fly within Australia?

Robert Brus: We have launched our business here in Australia and plan on capitalising on our first to market advantage. We have worked very hard on our technology, our business model and connectivity to both the Travel Industry and the General Aviation Industry as a whole.

So far our business is only in Australia and will be rolling out into the south west pacific and most of Oceania in the next 4-6 weeks. We are also working with several Chinese travel agent companies to integrate our platform into their booking systems along with several major US based businesses.

Once we are established in our region we will have clear line of sight to both North and South America.


Question: What's next for FlyAnywhere?

Robert Brus: In the short term it is consolidation of our hard work here in Australia and establishing ourselves in the Travel Agent space as the go to supplier for new and exciting commissions. As we bring on more travel agents and deploy into other countries the opportunity for these travel agents increases significantly. In the process growing the travel agents individual businesses we will become the number one supplier of on demand leads for General Aviation Industry in what ever country we are deployed in.
Our longer term goal (12-24 months) is a global roll out across every country that has a General Aviation Industry. Since our business model is replaceable in any location there are people that want to fly to locations not serviced by airlines we can easily duplicate our success here in Australia.


Interview by Brooke Hunter