Two Fly Guys: Tyler Flagg, Mark Lepczyk, and Innovation in the Air Over Alaska

Tyler Flagg and Mark Lepczyk ‘s passion for aviation is unmatched, as is there desire to make it easier for people to travel around Alaska by air (Image courtesy of FlyLocal-Alaska).

Thoughts of prosperity, innovation, and adventure draw people to entrepreneurship every day.  But perhaps sometimes the real allure is just a lure. Tyler Flagg, the Co-Founder of FlyLocal-Alaska, began his entrepreneurial journey as a boy. “There was always something in me that drew me to entrepreneurship from a young age,” said Flagg. “We would visit my grandparents in Upstate New York and one summer I took their rowboat and started rowing around the lake.”

Tyler quickly realized that there were a number of lures hanging from trees around the lake, left there by people who had been fishing who cut them loose when their line became snagged. “I was a little kid so I would go and climb up in the tree, take the lure down and put it in my boat,” said Flagg. “At the end of the summer I had a collection of these lures so I set up a stand outside of my grandparents house where I would sell these.” The name of his entrepreneurial endeavour? “Lures That Used to be Yours.”

For Mark Lepczyk, FlyLocal’s other co-founder, flying was always in the cards. “I always wanted to fly,” said Mark. “I entered into the program at Purdue, and it seemed like an incredible way to make a living.” To most people, flying is just another, faster, way to get somewhere else. For Mark however, flying is about so much more. “If you have the privilege to take flights on commercial airlines when you are growing up, you come to associate flying with an adventure,” said Mark. “It leads to really valuable and lasting experiences. When it came time for me to choose a vocation, it seemed like something that I wanted to do for a long time and I’m certainly glad that I did.” 

By Mark’s definition, flying is all about journeys, experiences, and interactions. Flying was a lifelong dream that ultimately led him to meet Tyler and begin a lasting friendship and business relationship. “We met when we were both Cadets in ROTC,” said Mark. “Tyler was a little bit older than me and the summer between your sophomore and junior year, the more senior individuals were given the opportunity to train the more junior cadets. Tyler happened to be my trainer and serendipitously, we ended up crossing paths again later on active duty. We’ve been friends ever since.” 

When asked how they would describe each other, neither Tyler nor Mark missed a beat. “Mark is one of the most forward-thinking people that I have ever met,” said Tyler. “He is extremely diligent and is someone who I have always wanted to work with.” Reciprocating this high level of praise, Mark shared that “Tyler has incredible vision, management skill, and persistence.” A deep-seated respect and an even deeper-seated passion for aviation mixed with a dash of entrepreneurship. The stage was set for a great idea to emerge.

Aviation is a crucial piece of Alaska’s cultural, social, and economic fabric. Approximately 80% of communities are not connected to the road system and rely heavily on air travel. “When you are in aviation you realize the inherent utility in airplanes and how they can impact people’s lives,” said Mark. “You also realize how robust civil airport infrastructure is and how many planes are out there, both privately and commercially owned. Most people’s touchpoint with the aviation industry is only through major airlines, but there is so much more that the industry has to offer.”

While many of the aforementioned communities are home to smaller airports, they do not receive regularly scheduled service from major airlines like Alaska, United, or American, as a commercial hub would. In fact, according to Mark and Tyler, there are around 400 public airports in Alaska, but only 5% have service from “major” US carriers. Although there are dozens of "local" airlines that fly small planes to hundreds of these isolated communities, the majority of traditional travel sites such as Kayak and Expedia, either don't include these local airlines, or make it too difficult to discover their flights. 

For Tyler and Mark, making it easier for people to fly and enjoy the journeys and adventures that come with air travel is the priority, and FlyLocal-Alaska is the answer to this problem. “FlyLocal is a way to search for, find, and compare tickets for Alaskan airlines all in one, centralized location,” said Tyler. “Our service allows for partner airlines to focus on the things they do best: flying and providing customers with a great experience.” 

Through FlyLocal-Alaska, Tyler and Mark (with support from Tyler’s older brother Spencer), created a website that allows users to browse flight options for over a dozen Alaskan airlines all in one place, with airports from the Chukchi Sea to Prince of Wales Island. Users click on the airport they wish to depart from and then on the one they wish to travel to. If a flight is available, relevant information is displayed, along with the option for the user to book their ticket. “We’re very new and are reaching out to people to get as much feedback as possible,” said Tyler. “Over time, we want to create something that people not only use, but keep coming back to.” 

Mark echoed these sentiments when asked how he would describe his vision for FlyLocal-Alaska succeeding. “We would like to see validation on the B2B side, specifically showing value to our partners and business owners,” said Mark. “We also believe that there is value in adventure in that mode of travel and transportation and we would need validation on the B2C front, which we will hopefully see when more people learn about us and begin using our service.”  

While describing FlyLocal-Alaska as a venture that is “taking off” will rightfully draw groans from readers for the terrible pun, it is accurate. A famous misattributed Da Vinci quote reads “[o]nce you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” Still, when you read it, you thought about your last flight...about your last adventure....and, looking ahead, how FlyLocal-Alaska can get you there.  Let’s get airborne!

You can learn more about FlyLocal-Alaska at www.FlyLocal-Alaska.com, and any feedback or questions should be sent to team@flylocal.io.