Project Scope

This project involves creating Planny, a modern private jet booking platform tailored for luxury travelers.

The platform features instant flight search, customizable onboard preferences, and transparent pricing, ensuring a seamless and user-friendly experience.

The project focused on blending a sleek, responsive design with functional efficiency, redefining how clients search and book private jets. Using Bubble, the platform was built to bridge the gap between traditional aviation services and modern convenience.

Biggest Challenges

Defining an Accurate Pricing Model

Crafting a robust formula to calculate flight hours between locations based on average aircraft cruise speed, then incorporating fees, taxes, and aircraft-specific costs to ensure accurate pricing transparency.

Simplifying Complex Data

Translating intricate logistics such as flight durations, aircraft specifications, and service options into an intuitive interface without compromising accuracy or clarity.

User Experience

Designing a booking process that feels effortless while addressing the high expectations of luxury travelers for customization and exclusivity.

Handling Custom Flight Preferences

Integrating dynamic passenger requests, such as catering, seating, and ground services, into the booking process while maintaining system flexibility.

Understanding the Market

The luxury private aviation industry has experienced significant growth in recent years, driven by increasing demand for personalized travel experiences and the convenience of avoiding traditional commercial flights. However, the market is also marked by inefficiencies, such as opaque pricing structures, complex booking processes, and a lack of modern digital solutions.

Key Market Trends

• ‍Rising Demand for Private Travel: High-net-worth individuals and corporations increasingly value time efficiency, privacy, and customization, fueling the growth of private jet charters.‍
• Digital Transformation: While many industries have embraced digital-first solutions, private aviation lags behind, with most services relying on outdated systems or manual processes.‍
• Sustainability Concerns: Eco-conscious travelers are beginning to seek private aviation options that align with their values, such as carbon offset programs or fuel-efficient aircraft.

Challenges in the Market

• ‍Opaque Pricing: Clients often struggle to understand cost breakdowns for private jet charters, leading to a lack of trust and hesitation in booking.‍
• Fragmented Booking Systems: Many platforms fail to provide a seamless experience, requiring multiple steps and interactions with brokers or operators.‍
• Exclusivity Expectations: Luxury travelers expect highly personalized services that adapt to their preferences, which many current platforms struggle to deliver.

Flight Hours and Cost Estimation

One of the key challenges in building Planny was designing a system within Bubble to calculate flight hours and provide an accurate cost estimate in a matter of seconds.

Here's how we solved it.

Step 1: Distance Calculation Between Locations

Instead of relying on external APIs, we utilized Bubble's built-in geographic features to calculate the distance in miles between the departure and destination airports. This approach streamlined the workflow and eliminated dependency on third-party services. The great-circle distance, calculated using Bubble's geolocation tools, served as the foundation for estimating flight hours.

Step 2: Cruise Speed Conversion and Calculation

Each aircraft's cruise speed was provided by manufacturers in Mach (a ratio of the aircraft's speed to the speed of sound). To integrate this into Bubble:

Mach to MPH Conversion

The standard speed of sound is ~767 mph at sea level.

The cruise speed for each aircraft was converted to mph for consistency in calculations.

For example:‍

1. Light Jet: Mach 0.78 → ~600 mph
2. ‍Mid-Size Jet: Mach 0.80 → ~610 mph‍
3. Large Jet: Mach 0.85 → ~652 mph‍
4. Ultra-Long-Range Jet (e.g., Bombardier Global 7500): Mach 0.90 → ~690 mph‍
5. Flight Hours Formula:

Using the distance calculated in Step 1, I determined flight hours with the formula:

Step 3: Cost Estimation Formula

Once flight hours were determined, we implemented a cost calculator using the following logic:

Step 4: Integration and Automation

Technical Complexities

Real-Time Calculations in Bubble

• Dynamic Geolocation Features: Bubble’s built-in geographic tools were leveraged to calculate the distance between two locations in miles, enabling instant flight hour calculations.
• Custom Workflows:
  • Integrated workflows to automate calculations, including flight hours, cost per hour, fees, and taxes.
  • Ensured all calculations dynamically updated based on user inputs, providing real-time results.

5. Performance Optimization

• Workflow Efficiency:
  • Optimized Bubble workflows to minimize latency for real-time calculations and updates.
• Data Handling:
  • Reduced the number of data calls by caching frequently used data, such as popular routes and aircraft details.

Impact

The combination of these technical solutions resulted in a platform that is visually engaging, highly interactive, and capable of delivering real-time, accurate results. This attention to technical detail ensured that PLANNY met the expectations of a luxury audience while maintaining scalability for future growth.