FLYT, the industry's first digital helicopter booking platform has won the title of 'Best Start-Up' at the prestigious third annual Sapphire Pegasus Awards held on May 29th, at the EBACE show in Geneva, Switzerland.

On accepting the award, Andy King, FLYT's CEO and Co-Founder said: "I am delighted with the recognition which reinforces our passion to offer greater choice, transparency, comparison and booking speed in helicopter charter. Thank you to the judges and industry peers who voted for us. And importantly, to our investors who believe in what FLYT is setting out to achieve."

Based out of The London Heliport Pod in Battersea, the company's booking platform went live in April and aims to bring the same technology to commercial helicopter bookings that clients are enjoying in the private sector. Users can view quotes instantly from an extensive range of UK helicopter operators and book online via desktop, tablet or smart phone.

Prior to FLYT, booking a helicopter flight had been a largely manual process, and preparing quotes was time consuming for both operators and brokers. FLYT aims to streamline the process and integrate with private jet booking platforms. By opening up the online marketplace to book helicopters, FLYT increases supply and demand, thereby bringing in lower prices and enabling clients to tap into empty legs.

One of the first operators to get on board with FLYT is SaxonAir, which operates the Airbus H120 and several Leonardo AW109s, alongside a growing range of business jets.

FLYT has secured backing from significant investors including Links of London and Annoushka co-founder John Ayton MBE, mobile technology group Apadmi Ventures and EarlyMarket.

The team is currently working on a booking app and will be reaching out to lifestyle and sporting event partners, including luxury hotels with helipads, to support it.

The Sapphire Pegasus awards were founded by Media Tribune's Antonia Lukacinova in 2016 to recognise excellence in companies and individuals within the business aviation sector around Europe.

Contributed by FLYT