FLAPPER

FLAPPER is a business-aviation company that operates a digital marketplace for private and charter aviation. Founded in 2016 by a group of Brazilian and Polish entrepreneurs, the company initially developed in Brazil around the idea of making private-aircraft travel easier to discover and book through a digital platform. Its service connects passengers with aircraft operators and supports on-demand charter arrangements, including full-aircraft bookings and shared or crowdsourced flights. The company’s early development was supported by Brazilian startup accelerator ACE, followed in 2018 by seed investment led by Brazilian fund manager Confrapar and other investors. By December 2018, the company had reported approximately R$4 million in accumulated funding. During this early period, FLAPPER also presented itself as a participant in the emerging urban-air-mobility sector. In 2018 it was reported to be considering electric autonomous helicopters, or eVTOL aircraft, for a future flight-sharing service, with an initial target date of 2021. The proposal reflected the company’s broader interest in applying digital booking and marketplace models to aircraft that could eventually serve shorter urban routes. FLAPPER began international expansion in 2020, entering Chile before moving into the United States. It subsequently established its international headquarters in Lisbon, Portugal. The company’s international model combines technology, charter brokerage, and relationships with aircraft operators rather than relying solely on a wholly owned fleet. Through its digital platform and mobile application, customers can search for aircraft and arrange private flights. The company has also described payment options that include credit cards, installment payments, and cryptocurrency. In 2021, FLAPPER entered a partnership with Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions, an Embraer company. The relationship was intended to support the development of urban air mobility in Latin America and served as a proof of concept for possible future operations using Eve’s electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. The proposed work included helicopter-based data collection and the potential allocation of flight time in major cities across the region. The partnership did not by itself establish a commercial eVTOL service, but it positioned FLAPPER as a prospective distribution and operating partner for a developing aircraft category. The company broadened its ambitions in 2024 by announcing an extension to its Series A financing and identifying aircraft management and fractional management as priority areas for investment. FLAPPER also reported letters of intent with several electric- and hybrid-electric aircraft manufacturers, including MagniX, Electra, Jaunt Mobility, and Eve Mobility. These relationships indicated an attempt to connect its existing charter marketplace with future-generation aircraft and alternative ownership models. In 2025, FLAPPER acquired Brazilian air carrier Black Táxi Aéreo in an all-cash transaction. The acquisition brought Black’s aircraft, operating infrastructure, and air-taxi activities into the FLAPPER organization. Black was positioned as an air-taxi operator within FLAPPER’s brokerage model, while Black’s founder took responsibility for the aircraft-management and fractional-ownership division. The combined operation added aircraft under management, including a Gulfstream GIV-SP and other jets. As reported in 2025, FLAPPER’s platform listed approximately 4,000 aircraft and served more than 30,000 customers. Its business therefore spans several connected activities: digital charter discovery and booking, brokerage of private and shared flights, payment facilitation, aircraft management, and planned fractional ownership. The company’s strategic direction combines near-term business aviation services with longer-term participation in electric and hybrid-electric urban aviation. Its principal challenge is the complexity of coordinating regulated aircraft operators, international markets, aircraft availability, safety requirements, and emerging eVTOL technology while maintaining a convenient consumer-facing booking experience.

FLAPPER was established in early 2016 by Brazilian and Polish entrepreneurs as a digitally enabled business-aviation company. Its initial concept was to simplify the discovery and purchase of private-aircraft travel by connecting passengers with operators through an online platform and mobile application. Rather than positioning itself only as an aircraft owner or conventional charter company, FLAPPER developed as a marketplace and brokerage business that could aggregate aircraft availability and match it with customer demand. Brazilian startup accelerator ACE provided the company’s first reported investment. In 2018, Brazilian fund manager Confrapar and other investors led a seed round. By December of that year, FLAPPER had reported cumulative funding of approximately R$4 million. During this phase, the company also explored the possibility that its platform could support new urban-air-mobility services. Reports in October 2018 described plans to add electric autonomous helicopters, or eVTOL aircraft, to a future flight-sharing offering, with a tentative launch date in 2021. The business expanded beyond Brazil in 2020. Chile was its first reported international market, followed by the United States. FLAPPER later established its international headquarters in Lisbon, Portugal, giving the company a European base while retaining its Latin American origins and operating focus. Its core service remained full-aircraft charter arranged through a digital booking interface, supplemented by shared or crowdsourced flight concepts. In 2021, FLAPPER worked with Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions, an Embraer company, on the development of urban air mobility in Latin America. The partnership was framed as a proof of concept for possible future Eve eVTOL operations. The proposed activities included using helicopters to collect operational data and considering how flight time might eventually be allocated among major cities. The relationship connected FLAPPER’s customer and booking infrastructure with an aircraft manufacturer’s plans for electric vertical aviation, although the partnership did not immediately create a regular commercial eVTOL network. FLAPPER announced another strategic step in 2024, when it disclosed a Series A extension and said that the new resources would support aircraft management and fractional management. These activities would complement the company’s original charter-brokerage model by giving it a more direct role in the administration and use of aircraft. FLAPPER also reported letters of intent with MagniX, Electra, Jaunt Mobility, and Eve Mobility, reflecting continued interest in electric and hybrid-electric aircraft. In 2025, FLAPPER acquired Black Táxi Aéreo, a Brazilian air carrier, in an all-cash transaction. Black’s fleet and facilities became part of FLAPPER’s operating structure, and Black continued as an air-taxi operator within the broader brokerage model. Black’s founder was assigned to lead FLAPPER’s aircraft-management and fractional-ownership division. The transaction added aircraft under management, including a Gulfstream GIV-SP and other jets. By 2025, FLAPPER reported that its digital platform listed approximately 4,000 aircraft and had served more than 30,000 customers. Its business had consequently developed from a charter-booking startup into a broader aviation-services platform covering on-demand charter, shared-flight arrangements, operator connectivity, payment facilitation, aircraft management, and planned fractional ownership. The company’s long-term strategy remains linked to the adoption of electric and hybrid-electric aircraft, but its established business is conventional business aviation and air-taxi brokerage.

• 2025

  Black Táxi Aéreo acquisition

  [1]Flapper (company)en.wikipedia.org

  FLAPPER acquires Black Táxi Aéreo, adding aircraft, facilities, and air-taxi capabilities to its broader aviation platform.

• 2024

  Series A extension and management expansion

  [1]Flapper (company)en.wikipedia.org

  FLAPPER announces a Series A extension and plans to develop aircraft-management and fractional-management services.

• 2021

  Urban-air-mobility partnership with Eve

  [1]Flapper (company)en.wikipedia.org

  FLAPPER and Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions collaborate on potential Latin American urban-air-mobility operations and eVTOL use cases.

• 2020

  International expansion begins

  [1]Flapper (company)en.wikipedia.org

  FLAPPER enters Chile and the United States, later establishing its international headquarters in Lisbon.

• 2018

  Seed financing and eVTOL planning

  [1]Flapper (company)en.wikipedia.org

  ACE provides early backing, Confrapar leads a later seed investment, and FLAPPER is reported to be considering electric autonomous helicopters for a future flight-sharing service.

• 2016

  FLAPPER is established

  [1]Flapper (company)en.wikipedia.org

  A group of Brazilian and Polish entrepreneurs establishes FLAPPER as a digitally enabled business-aviation company.

A technology-enabled business-aviation marketplace that aims to make private charter more accessible while expanding into aircraft management, fractional ownership, and future electric urban aviation.

• Air charter · 2016

  On-demand aircraft charter

  FLAPPER’s core offering connects customers with aircraft operators for full-aircraft private charter. Customers use the company’s digital platform or mobile application to identify available aircraft and arrange flights. The service is brokerage-based, allowing the platform to present aircraft from multiple operators rather than depending exclusively on a single owned fleet.

• Shared aviation

  Shared and crowdsourced flights

  FLAPPER has described shared or crowdsourced flights as part of its service model. This approach seeks to distribute the cost of a private aircraft among multiple passengers or coordinate demand for selected routes, extending the platform beyond conventional one-customer full-aircraft charter.

• Aviation management · 2024

  Aircraft management

  Aircraft management became a formal strategic priority as FLAPPER expanded beyond brokerage. The service is intended to give aircraft owners operational and administrative support while allowing FLAPPER to integrate managed aircraft into its charter and air-taxi network.

• Fractional aviation · 2024

  Fractional management

  FLAPPER has pursued fractional-management and fractional-ownership services as an extension of its charter marketplace. The model is designed to combine shared access to aircraft with professional management, although detailed ownership terms and the full commercial structure have not been specified in the available reference material.

• Aviation technology · 2016

  Digital booking platform and mobile application

  The FLAPPER platform and mobile application provide the customer-facing layer of the business. They connect travelers with aircraft operators, support charter discovery and booking, and provide payment functionality. Reported payment methods include credit cards, installment payments, and cryptocurrency.

• 2025

  Acquisition of Black Táxi AéreoM&A

  Background

  FLAPPER aimed to add operating aircraft and infrastructure to its brokerage platform while developing aircraft-management and fractional-ownership services.

  Action taken

  The company acquired Black Táxi Aéreo in an all-cash transaction and incorporated its fleet and facilities into FLAPPER’s operations.

  Aftermath

  Black became an air-taxi operator within the FLAPPER model, and its founder assumed leadership of the aircraft-management and fractional-ownership division. The combined organization added aircraft under management, including a Gulfstream GIV-SP.

  Transaction consideration. (2025)

  Source

• 2024

  Expansion into aircraft and fractional managementStrategy

  Background

  FLAPPER sought to diversify beyond charter brokerage and build a more durable role in aircraft ownership support and operations.

  Action taken

  Following a Series A extension, the company directed resources toward aircraft management and fractional management and reported letters of intent with several electric- and hybrid-electric aircraft manufacturers.

  Aftermath

  The move broadened FLAPPER’s stated business scope and linked its current charter network with prospective next-generation aircraft.

  Source

• 2021

  Partnership with Eve for Latin American urban air mobilityStrategy

  Background

  Eve was developing electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, while FLAPPER provided aviation-market, booking, and potential operational capabilities.

  Action taken

  The companies agreed to collaborate on a proof of concept involving potential eVTOL operations, helicopter data collection, and future allocation of flight time in major Latin American cities.

  Aftermath

  The partnership strengthened FLAPPER’s position as a prospective platform partner for urban air mobility, without establishing a confirmed regular commercial eVTOL service in the available sources.

  Source

• 2018

  Plan to introduce electric autonomous helicoptersProduct launch

  Background

  FLAPPER was exploring how its flight-sharing platform could be applied to electric autonomous helicopters and other eVTOL aircraft.

  Action taken

  The company planned a future eVTOL-oriented service, with a projected 2021 launch target.

  Aftermath

  The plan established urban air mobility as a recurring strategic theme, but the available material does not confirm the launch of the proposed 2021 service.

  Source

• 2021.11.15

  Reported2021.11.15

  Flapper and magniX announce electric-propulsion agreement[2]Flapper与magniX宣布电动推进系统合作协议prnewswire.com

  Flapper and magniX announced an agreement for Flapper to purchase up to 20 magni650 Electric Propulsion Units to convert Cessna Caravan aircraft to electric aircraft, with launch expected in 2024. Flapper will also assist with planning and coordinating certification processes.

Read more

1. 1Flapper (company)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Flapper与magniX宣布电动推进系统合作协议prnewswire.com