Not another charter app.
Private aviation is one of the last industries still run through WhatsApp groups, PDFs and phone trees. WingForte Surface to Air™ is being built as the operating system it deserves — a professional aviation network for the people who actually fly, own and operate the aircraft.
The team
Michael Kent brings more than 20 years as a senior captain on Airbus and Gulfstream aircraft. Christopher Jones brings enterprise technology and operations delivery. Together with our leads, we build tools that work for owners and operators.
Founders
Michael Kent
WingForte Co-founder
Innovaforte · Lead, Aviation & Travel · Washington, DC & Miami, FL, USA
- ›20+ years of professional aviation experience
- ›Commercial, private and business aviation
- ›Aviation & travel sector operations
- ›Business development and industry relationships
- ›Operational workflows and network strategy
Michael brings more than 20 years of professional aviation experience, combining commercial airline operations with extensive exposure to private and business aviation. A relationship-driven professional, he understands the operational challenges faced by pilots, operators, owners and clients. At Innovaforte he leads engagement across the aviation and travel sectors, and he contributes directly to the development of WingForte.
Christopher Jones
Co-founder · COO
- ›16+ years enterprise platforms at the World Health Organization
- ›Digital transformation & product strategy
- ›AI, secure cloud & data architecture
- ›Global operations across regulated environments
Sixteen years designing enterprise platforms at WHO, working across regulated, global, security-sensitive environments. Chris's job is turning Michael's aviation network into infrastructure — scalable, verifiable, and trusted by flight departments and Fortune 500 operators.
Leads
Timothy Hodson
Lead · Strategy & Partnerships
- ›Master's in International Relations, Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona)
- ›Cross-border strategy across US, EU and Asia-Pacific
- ›Regulatory affairs and stakeholder engagement
- ›Commercial partnerships with operators, FBOs and flight departments
International strategy and business development professional spanning consulting, regulatory affairs and commercial operations. At WingForte, Timothy leads partnerships with operators, FBOs and flight departments across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific — expanding the network through the right relationships, not the loudest ones. Based in Charleston, South Carolina.
Helena Stouvenel
Lead · Legal & Contract Administration
- ›Law degree, Universidad Icesi (Cali, Colombia)
- ›15+ years across Geneva notary firms and international diplomacy
- ›Contract drafting, document governance and secure archiving
- ›Trilingual client relations — English, French, Spanish
Trilingual legal and administrative professional with 15+ years in high-stakes environments including Geneva notary firms and international diplomacy. At WingForte, Helena leads contract administration, document governance and secure handling of pilot, operator and owner records — the discretion and precision private aviation demands. Based in Nyon, Switzerland.
The opportunity
The industry has world-class aircraft and world-class people — but fragmented digital infrastructure. Crewing, credentials, availability and operations still move through email threads, PDFs, spreadsheets and messaging groups.
That gap between the sophistication of the aircraft and the sophistication of the tooling is where WingForte lives.
Our approach
WingForte starts with pilots. Structured flight-hour records, type ratings, availability, base airports, languages and repositioning willingness — in one profile designed for verification, so owners and operators can assess it at a glance.
Owners get direct access to a vetted talent pool. Operators get fleet-wide staffing and currency tracking. FBOs see inbound crew context in real time. Passenger workflows come last — once the network is worth flying on.
Why now
AI finally makes intelligent matching possible — anticipating owner needs, spotting repositioning opportunities, filling empty legs before they empty. Combined with a professional aviation network built on a planned verification model, this can become the connective tissue of an entire industry, not another marketplace.
Principles we build against.
Trust before transactions.
Verification is the product. Bookings without trust have no compounding value.
Professionals before passengers.
Owners follow crews. Crews follow trust. We build the network in that order.
Verification before algorithms.
AI is powerful — but only useful on top of clean, structured, permissioned data.
Operations before marketing.
We'd rather quietly onboard 50 founding captains than run a landing-page campaign.
Global from day one.
Private aviation is inherently international. Our tools reflect that from V1.
Long-term relationships over one-time bookings.
Recurring crew, recurring aircraft, recurring routes — the platform compounds with the industry.
Want to see the modules we're shipping first?
Swiss company. Global platform.
WingForte is developed and operated by Innovaforte GmbH, a Swiss technology company focused on secure AI platforms and operational software for regulated industries. Innovaforte provides the engineering, governance and long-term stewardship behind WingForte while allowing the platform to evolve as a dedicated aviation business.