A Scarsdale startup is trying to replace the spreadsheets and whiteboards that private jet dispatchers use to schedule flights.
Floating Fleet AI, founded and led by Roger Zhan, builds scheduling software that handles aircraft assignments, crew scheduling and crew rostering for private aviation operators. Zhan, who holds a PhD in operations research and has spent about two decades in aviation operations, told 914inc.com that dispatchers lacked a good tool for the job. Empty legs and repositioning costs were cutting into operators' margins, he said, so he built one.
The company was one of eight Westchester startups selected for the spring 2026 cohort of Element 46, the county's tech accelerator program powered by QUAY Acceleration. The 10-week program pairs founders with mentors and offers a curriculum covering fundraising, customer development and branding.
Zhan described his software as "deterministic AI," separating it from chatbot-style tools, according to 914inc.com.
Large language models are not suited to the number-crunching that fleet scheduling requires, he said, because finding the best solution means sorting through millions of permutations. His team designed algorithms that produce the same output from the same input every time, a quality he said precise airline operations demand. He sometimes calls these tools "precision agents."
The company started in private aviation, though the sources disagree on its scale. A Westchester County press release from April 7 said the platform supported over 80 aircraft. The Element 46 cohort page listed over 50 planes. Neither figure has been independently confirmed.
Zhan told 914inc.com that Element 46 gave him a community of fellow entrepreneurs and a network of mentors and investors. One concrete change came from a cohort peer. That peer convinced him to double down on thought leadership as a go-to-market strategy.
His next step is expanding into commercial airlines. The April press release said the company was seeking seed funding within three months to scale the business, though no update on that fundraising effort is available.
The spring 2026 cohort's Demo Day was scheduled for June 11, according to the county press release. Information about the fall 2026 cohort is available on the Element 46 website.
