He knew exactly what to look for: a seven-seat Cessna Citation XLS jet. Delving into his father’s contact book he quickly identified the right person to speak to. “I picked up the phone and, admittedly, the operator initially thought it was some kind of joke, but came to see I knew what I was talking about, and I chartered the Citation.

“Then when one of my father’s friends needed a temporary replacement jet on charter, [my father] asked me to find one. There was no sort of online listing of available private jets back then [around 2015], so I went looking through [hard copy jet charter market] directories, identified a plane to match my dad’s friend’s expectations and called the operator, who eventually accepted I was worth listening to.”

Robinson would charter jets that had only been booked one way, leaving them empty on their return leg

Over time his father began involving him in more charters, and Robinson saw the potential in turning informal family-related bookings into an enterprise.

JustJet was born on an Oakham School sixth form desk — with Robinson occasionally negotiating deals from the back of classrooms during his A-levels. Not appreciating the traditional ways of the jet charter industry — and why should he, as a teenager? — he eschewed the established time-consuming process involving multiple brokers and operators, opting instead to deal with them directly and cutting out layers of commission fees.

By the age of 17 Robinson was chartering jets that had been booked one way, leaving them empty — and costly to operators — on their return or “repositioning” flights. He quickly recognised the potential of these “empty legs”.

Such bookings became the backbone of his first business, JustJet. Formalised in 2018, it quickly nudged into a six-figure turnover, evolving into a home-based brokerage selling and filling empty leg flights.

Robinson’s business took flight following a £110 advert placed on social media

Things really took off when he bought a £110 ad on an Instagram page aimed at affluent younger prospective private jet users. Within six hours of the ad going live he had sold a London–Paris flight on a Challenger 300 for £1,600 — a figure he soon realised was “very cheap” but an early indicator of potential profits. He quickly amassed a client base of social media-savvy customers who could afford these flights but had never been marketed to, and private jet operators soon inundated him with empty leg offers.

Initially focused on empty legs, JustJet developed into fully bespoke charters. By the time Robinson was 19 the business had hit £1 million in revenue. He dropped out of Cass Business School and the business steadily grew, Robinson learning on the job, as he took on both empty leg and bespoke charters.

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Within two years, following a chance encounter in a coffee shop and an unexpected introduction — details of which we will not go into for security reasons — the business had extended into serving multiple international governments and royal families.

In 2024, having seen the potential for simplified private jet charter, alongside JustJet — which specialises in planned bespoke private charters — EnterJet was formally launched. EnterJet appears to be revolutionising private jet charter with on-demand, usually last-minute, sometimes no-frills, online charter bookings for both business and leisure.

The interior of a private jet, available to book via EnterJet

“There’s so many brokers and middle people in traditional private jet charter that from starting the charter request to confirming it can take days; everybody takes a cut, pushing prices up,” Robinson says. “There just had to be a simpler way.” And there was.

While JustJet caters for those bespoke charters, EnterJet focuses on on-demand empty leg bookings, soft launching in 2023 with an initial 150 experienced private jet-using members and a select array of operators, so directly connecting private flyers with aircraft operators, simplifying the booking process.

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The business went full throttle in early 2024: new users were carefully vetted, and jet operators began setting minimum aircraft age, maintenance and quality standards. It now organises about 12 charters a day. EnterJet’s online private jet booking process almost matches the speed of commercial airline reservations. Robinson says traditional private jet brokers dabble with competitor services, but the established system is so entrenched that they struggle to make it work.

Quietly building a base of dozens of private jet operators he had come to know and trust through JustJet, and creating a membership that now numbers 3,500 vetted users — you are only accepted if you are an experienced PJ user — EnterJet matches booking requests with available jets. The premise is simple: go online, request a route, and operators respond with offers. The business makes money through a combination of low overheads and small commissions, between 2.95 and 3.95 per cent — compared with established brokers, who charge 5 to 20 per cent.

While immediacy is key — the fastest booking-to-boarding to date took just 29 minutes — flights are sold on a “Dutch auction” basis: the closer to departure, the lower the price, with operators keen to avoid empty flights.

EnterJet focuses on on-demand empty leg bookings and uses a “Dutch auction” system to sell flights

EnterJet client “James”, a HNW 25-year-old involved in his family’s international property business, flies on private jets into Europe roughly once a month. “The family used brokers and private jet operators, but it was so complicated, so much to-ing and fro-ing. Then we were introduced to Charles,” he says.

“I love the transparency of EnterJet and how much time it saves. I go online, request a flight and within 20 or 30 minutes I’m sent three or four options from [private jet] operators. It’s especially time-efficient when face-to-face meetings are essential, sometimes in several places in Europe that aren’t connected by commercial flights.” He adds that it is relative value for money when time “is such an important currency”.

Xenia Rankin, 30, runs Little Blue Door, a bespoke travel and events business. Her 220 regular clients include family private offices, foreign royals, American east coast UHNWs, and younger entrepreneurs who have exited their businesses. “Because they cut out the brokers, EnterJet provides really competitive pricing, and they’re completely transparent. The jets are operated and presented to high standards, all of which contributes to repeat client business. You don’t get second chances with this level of client,” she says.

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Private jet operators, who manage jets on behalf of owners, like the simplicity of the online booking process. Nicholas Leonardi, the owner representative of a fleet of four jets — including an Austrian-owned £19 million Bombardier Challenger 3500, capable of flying ten people transatlantic or coast-to-coast in the US — says the online model is straightforward and time-saving.

“I can list my aircraft, see enquiries come in live, quote instantly and message the client directly, no broker sitting in the middle with back-and-forth emails. The pricing is clear from the start, and I get to build a direct relationship with the client. It just feels more efficient and fair,” Leonardi says.

“Average on-demand flight revenue is £11,500 per aircraft charter,” Robinson explains. “But empty legs can be significantly cheaper. For instance we’ve done London to Paris, five people, for €1,000 — that’s €200 each. Cheaper than Eurostar.

“It’s opening new markets. The average user age is 33, compared to 60-63 for traditionally brokered flights, with 25 per cent of users female. Usage varies from between once every two years, often for pet travel, to family offices doing weekly flights.”

And while private jets may carry a champagne image, in-flight drinks orders on such charters reflect the lifestyle choices of the younger HNW demographic: the most popular are green juices and sparkling water.