Saudi family uses app for private jet spending spree

Smartphone apps may traditionally have been seen as mediums to purchase music or gifts, but a Saudi Arabian family office has taken mobile commerce to the next level – chartering a private jet in a $500,000 (€381,000) transaction.

Booked through PrivateFly.com, the family office hired a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) – a converted 737, which includes an office, boardroom, lounge, bedroom and two bathrooms.

It is the largest transaction ever completed through the company’s app, and is likely to be at the top end of the most expensive purchases made via a smartphone – the average mobile commerce transaction is around $100.

PrivateFly chief executive and chairman Adam Twidell said many industry experts had told him that private jet customers wouldn’t book online, let alone through a phone app, but now 6% of sales originate through the company’s app.

“It is particularly utilised with the new breed of jet customer, including technology entrepreneurs,” Twidell said.

The family office intends to use the jet for a multi-leg business trip.