Benton Miller founded RetrievAir to allow oversized dogs and other pets to ride in the cabin with owners after airline restrictions forced larger dogs into cargo. RetrievAir targets a $5.5 billion US pet-air-travel market and charges average fares around $775 per seat. The company secured $776,000 from Alexis Ohanian for a 15% stake and recorded over $500,000 in sales within weeks of opening bookings. Operations use a modified 30-seat Embraer E135 with faster private-airport check-in, tailored security, and assigned paid seats for dogs over 40 pounds. Some routes are selling out despite roughly $80,000 weekly operating costs, prompting added cities and increased sales.
"Frustrated by how hard it was to fly with his own Labradors, Maple and Willow - and often having to leave them behind - entrepreneur Benton Miller founded RetrievAir, a pet airline that lets oversized dogs (or any-sized dog or cat) ride in the cabin alongside their owners. In an interview with Business Insider, Miller said the pet-air-travel sector represents a $5.5 billion US market with plenty of room for more players. RetrievAir fares average $775 per seat."
"Miller recently turned to ABC's "Shark Tank" reality show for funding and secured $776,000 from guest Shark and Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian in exchange for a 15% stake - a nod to Ohanian's "Seven Seven Six" venture fund. Ohanian has a 100-pound dog named Adora. Miller said Ohanian "understands burn" because of his tech background and "knows how to scale to a billion-dollar company." RetrievAir, which launched in May, secured over $500,000 in sales within weeks of opening bookings."
Read at Business Insider
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]