Quote a flight
October 11, 2014

Bitcoin Accepted Here

We accept Bitcoin. Electronic cash system for the Internet.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is the decentralized digital crypto-currency (electronic cash system) that makes is easy to send money via the Internet with little or no transaction fees. If you're not familiar with Bitcoin, go to Bitcoin.org for a short video on how it works.

Many in tech are excited about Bitcoin, as am I. Some say it will do for payments what email did for the Internet. Whatever the future holds for Bitcoin, giving customers another more secure payment option, and one as fast as email, aligns perfectly with our mission.

Our Air Taxi service gives you the power to fly when and where you want "A modern charter plane when you need it". Sometimes, a short notice flight from, say, Naples to Marathon or Tallahassee to Miami, for new customer requires a signed agreement along with the customer's credit card information. A Bitcoin transaction eliminates this cumbersome step and can be done as simply as sending an email from your smart phone's digital wallet.

Many big companies now accept Bitcoin

Companies such as Dell, Overstock.com, Expedia, Dish Network, PayPal, Tesla, Wordpress, Zynga, and Etsy started accepting Bitcoins this summer.

Get your digital wallet

To get started using Bitcoins, you need a digital wallet. I use Coinbase.com although there are others. If you sign up with Coinbase, though, they give you $5 worth of Bitcoin. You then want to educate yourself about Bitcoin. Visit weusecoins.com to learn more about how to secure your Bitcoins, where to buy them, and who accepts them.

Short course on Bitcoin

Bitcoin was an idea developed from a paper published by Satoshi Nakamoto about a peer-to-peer electronic cash system allowing online payments without going through a financial institution. Bitcoin transactions are person to person, no middleman. There's no bank or other intermediary between you and the person you're transacting with. Transactions are secure. You never have to give your personal details, unlike a credit card, to send or receive money. You can use Bitcoins to pay for anything. From an expresso to a car. And now, a private Air Taxi flight in our Cirrus SR22.

No person, government, or entity controls Bitcoin. It's software is open-source and is maintained by a community of developers. Miners, people with high-powered computers that constantly verify the network and public ledger listing every Bitcoin transaction, are rewarded Bitcoins for their work. Anyone can be a Miner. Bitcoins are used by millions of people all over the world. Accepting and sending payments is easier and safer (more secure) than our usual methods - credit cards, Paypal, or bank transfers.

Bitcoin works for our business

In our air taxi business, and the aircraft charter industry in general, the process of accepting credit cards for air charter flights has always been a problem. The high costs of operating aircraft plus credit card transaction fees (3-4%) can reduce net profits by 25%. A big hit. And credit cards always have the risk of chargebacks. Bitcoin solves these problems and saves us time better spent focusing on delivering a great Florida Air Taxi experience for our customers.

To avoid credit card transactions costs, many air charter operators use credit cards to hold a reservation until a check or bank wire arrives. This requires lengthy agreements, credit card authorization forms, plus copies of customers credit card and drivers license. A time consuming procedure and potential security risk for the customer. For the aircraft charter operator It gets riskier with short notice flights during off hours (nights & weekends) when banks are closed. Bitcoin changes this, allowing, for example, sending a small deposit to reserve a plane, then full payment on they day of the flight. Simple and safe for everyone.

Give Bitcoin a try. It's easy.

Bitcoin makes simple the act of sending and receiving money with little or no transaction costs. Paying for products or services, making donations, sending money to family or friends, and receiving payments, will get easier and more secure. If you haven't already, get yourself educated on how Bitcoin works then try some small transactions from trusted merchants. Let me know of your experience and I'll share it here.

Head Aviator by William A. Ibarra