Belo Horizonte, Brazil-based business aircraft digital charter broker Flapper, which currently provides both per-seat and whole aircraft bookings in Brazil, is expanding into the Mexican market in the second quarter, the company announced yesterday. Flapper cited a large domestic market and low utilization of technology as key reasons it selected Mexico as its first international market.

“The Mexican market is attractive for a number of reasons, including large domestic fleet, proximity to the U.S., and an existing private aviation hub at [Mexico City] Toluca Airport,” said Flapper CEO Paul Malicki. “At the same time, this market faces the same challenges as Brazil, with little utilization of technology and large fragmentation of the air-taxi segment. Our intention is to turn private aviation into the mainstream travel option and increase the size of the existing market.”

According to the company, 35 percent of its customers never flew private aircraft before flying with Flapper. By offering charter on a per-seat basis and simplifying the charter booking process, Flapper claims to increase the use of such services.

Flapper’s charter booking app, which currently has 160,000 users in Brazil, is now being “localized” into Spanish and peso-based pricing. The online charter broker said it has already registered 10 Mexican air-taxi operators and is in advanced discussions with domestic investors who will finance its expansion there. Flapper estimates that the Mexican market will be around $700 million annually.

The company’s plans include offering scheduled seasonal flights between Toluca and Acapulco, as well as empty leg flights across the country, all priced in real time via its app.

To date, Flapper has facilitated transportion for more than 10,000 passengers in Brazil. It said it vets operators through safety audits and in December received Wyvern air charter broker registration. The company also has plans to eventually expand into other Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America.