QUINCY - Nate McKelvey was managing a small charter jet company in Marshfield and taking computer science courses at night when he saw some problems he wanted to solve.

Local private jet operators were struggling to serve businesses with a national presence. And executives with busy travel schedules didn't have an efficient way of booking private flights.

McKelvey began developing a system that could receive schedule information from operators across the country. It evolved into a web site that allows customers to check operators' schedules and book flights.

In 1999, he launched the web site for CharterAuction. The company works with 260 private jet operators nationwide and coordinates 8 to 10 flights a day. About 1,000 active customers pay rates ranging from $1,700 to $15,000 per flight hour, depending on their schedule and aircraft preferences.

McKelvey, a 35-year-old Hingham resident, employs about 25 people in his office in the Crown Colony office park in Hingham. He expects revenues of about $20 million this year, up from $14.6 million in 2004.

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