Aero Secures $16M

Aero is building a seamless way to travel to the best leisure destinations in the world. Today, Aero announced the hiring of industry veteran Uma Subramanian as CEO, as well as $16M in funding received to-date. Subramanian, who joined the Aero team over the summer, has already run a series of successful market tests and is currently putting together a team of industry veterans to shape the company vision, and build an end-to-end flight experience to the next up-and-coming destinations.

"Based on Aero's past market test successes, we have a very clear vision of where we want to take the company going forward. Uma's deep industry knowledge is exactly what was needed to bring this vision to life and push the company forward," said Garrett Camp, Co-Founder at Uber and Founder of Expa, who has helped launch the startup. "Now we want to get out of the way and let her and her team work their magic."

Subramanian joins Aero from Airbus, where she launched Voom.Flights, an urban air mobility service operating helicopters in some of the world's densest cities. She has 20 years of experience at the intersection of aerospace and technology, and is excited to apply her talents to building a next generation carrier.

"I am super excited to be leading the Aero team to bring to life our vision of ushering in a new golden age of air travel," Subramanian said. "I believe that flying should be a magical experience – not just getting from A to B, but rather an experience to be savored and shared. We want to be the premier air carrier for the experience economy."

Subramanian is rapidly expanding her team, adding key advisors and executives from Virgin America, Virgin Atlantic, and more. As Aero continues to put an emphasis on beautiful design and a shareable experience, she is also expanding the company's design team with leaders hailing from IDEO to contribute to building Aero's holistic end-to-end experiences.

Under Subramanian's leadership, the young company has run a series of successful market tests, including a summer trial in which Aero partnered with a European air carrier to offer flights between Mykonos and Ibiza, the first nonstop service between the two locations. More than 80 percent of the bookings on the Mykonos-Ibiza route were purchased from mobile devices, and the company plans to build the first ever mobile-first booking, ticketing and boarding pass system. Upcoming premium destinations for the air travel company include Telluride and La Paz, and they will begin selling tickets to these destinations next month.

Starting seamlessly from your mobile device, an Aero flight will counter many of the pain points experienced during travel, from security to uncomfortable, poorly designed plane interiors. Their planes are being designed to foster a social experience with luxurious seating and in-flight entertainment options.

Aero is giving travelers a new way to fly, and to make the experience fun again. To learn more about Aero, visit Aero.com.

About Aero

Aero is a next generation travel technology company. We offer a seamless way to travel to the best premium destinations in the world. Our goal is to give travelers a new way to fly, and to make that experience fun again. Unlike commercial airlines, with Aero you'll fly nonstop between private airports and avoid crowded terminals. You can enjoy all of the benefits of private air travel for not much more than a first-class flight. Founded by Garrett Camp, Aero is headquartered in San Francisco. Learn more at www.aero.com.