Book Charter Flights Online

22 seconds). For so many websites that offer online chartering, how can you possibly keep the good from the evil and the unsightly?

Firstly, you should be aware that charter websites are divided into three categories: some are directly linked to charter companies (about 2,500 in the US); some are represented by charter companies, which then make the link between airlines and passengers easier; and others are autonomous market places, which can also act as a broker or can move aside once a link has been established between airlines and passengers.

Meanwhile at least one website of a charter company and several market places offer online reservation of charter flights in airlines fashion, but the open questions remain how much this will become liked. Own websites allow you to direct your request for flights to an authorised carrier that has an authorised CAO and is authorised by the authorities to administer every facet of the operations, in particular the appointment of cabin crews and airplane upkeep.

This means a FAA Part 135 charter certification in the USA. It also includes websites of airframe operating and servicing entities that may or may not have their own Part 135 certification. Operators who do not have a certification must work directly with a Part 135 carrier who does so and makes it clear on their website.

"XYZ Company chartered flights are performed by ABC Charters or other airlines approved to FAR Part 135 and listed with the U.S. Department of Transportation. The XYZ Company will act as agents for ABC Charters, unless ABC cannot arrange the flights, in which case XYZ will act as agents to obtain the flights from another carrier.

" To act as an agency is comparable to the activity as a brokering partner. The Executive Jet Mangement is an example of an airline that has its own Part 135 certification. She' s arranging her charter through New World Jet Corp. The Air Charter-Brokers work as mediators and coordinate the data between a Part 135 carrier and the client.

Agents do not administer the plane, and they often work with several hundred carriers. Principal organizes all facets of the air journey through the agent, taking into account schedules, food and beverages and special amenities, and has little or no dealings with the controller. Bakers are not regular and some are better, even much better than others.

A good broker can serve both his charter client and the operator. Market places are not charter companies, although some offer only restricted brokerages. This website publishes information about the Part 135 operator, as well as available flights and fare information, and allows you, as a client, to directly communicate with the operator to organise and book flights.

As soon as you have established this connection, the market place can move away entirely from the trial or take over part of the broker's work. Since you do not book the journey or find an agent through a third person, you only need to cover the cost of the actual flights and the requested service, such as caterers.

According to Peter Faller, co-founder and CEO of Jet, Peter Faller, agents and market places generally calculate an annual 7 per cent of air travel costs. It is up to the stockbroker or market place to determine whether he charges the fee to the provider, the client or both.

A further advantage of operator-owned websites is the possibility to create exact quotations. While there are a few exemptions, most stockbrokers and market places offer pricing only, and you will not know the real costs until the detail is clarified with the carrier. Here is a tip: After you have received an offer from an advertiser, ask for the wholesaler rate, which is the rate a broker would charge and which does not cover provision.

The private jets.com of the Sentient Group, an operating site, offers real-time rates and information on plane uptime. This is also the only operator-owned website that offers online reservation directly, using a similar procedure to that used by airlines and corporate websites. The majority of carriers have websites, but clients usually need to provide their details and talk to a corporate agent before they book a trip, according to Jim Betlyon, chief executive officer of both Wyvern and CharterX.

Sentient' s website allows you to book a plane in the same way that you would book a hire vehicle online, making the booking quick and simple. Privatjets.com was also the first charter website to implement the idea of a "hold button". "If you select this item, you can book an airplane for up to threehrs.

Sentient will remove the plane from the available fleet during this period. "Further instances of own charter websites are Delta Air Elite, TWC Aviation, M&N Aviation and Sawyer Aviation. They use an online offering system developed by CharterX, but like most charter websites they ask you to talk to a sales rep before you book your flights.

Can' book it online like Privatejets.com. The use of a stockbroker also has benefits. Brokers usually have at their disposal a much bigger pool of planes. "Smaller Part 135 operators could have very high value airplanes and crew members and services, but the airplane may not be sufficient or available nationwide," said Jets.com chief executive officer and founding member Nate McKelvey.

Charter Logic COO Jordan Brown added, "An owner of only a few planes may not have the right plane for a particular assignment. "On the other side, brokerage companies work with several hundred different companies and can organise a trip anytime, anywhere. It is possible that brokerage firms may also offer a service that cannot be provided by the provider.

JetCombo.com, for example, uses patented JetCombo technology that combines airlines' computer reservations system with information from privately held jets to provide a combined travel experience that can cost savings of hundreds of thousands odds. followed by a commercial plane ride to Santa Barbara would cost $7,000. "JetCombo.com is the only website that can integrate airlines and charter in a unique itinerary," said JetCombo.com' George Khairallah, chairman.

One disadvantage of using a charter brokers is that you do not always know the level of service provided. As an example, a brokers can say to work only with "ARG/US rated" operators", but as McKelvey stated, "ARG/US has so many layers - DNQ, Silver, Gold, Gold Plus, Gold Plus, and Platinum - it causes a great deal of mess.

Only because an ARG/US user uses ARG/US does not mean that he has a good level of service. "The best choice is a stockbroker whose ARG/US or Wyvern owners are ranked high. Jet.com and A-List Jet only work with ARG/US Gold and Platinum valued carriers. "Air Royale said Air Royale CEO Wayne Rizzi, "I use the 80/20 rules, which means that 80 per cent of our charter operations go to about 20 per cent of the best charter companies.

Over the 14 years we've been doing business, we' ve found that these top 20 per cent of operator have the latest planes, the most skilled crew and the highest standards of security - far beyond what the federal authorities require. "Air Royale uses only ARG/US Platinum Ratings and is a Wyvern authorized broker.

Virgin Charter was one of the first online charter websites to strongly propagate the concept of "marketplace". "However, it does not have the class by itself; other market places are Streamline Jets, CharterX and CharterMatrix.com. "Betlyon of CharterX said: "We do not make the reservations, we only link buyers and sellers". CharterMatrix Terry Cooper, CEO and Chairman of CharterMatrix, said: "We do not arrange the flights or participate in the sale of the flights.

This is what we let the charter companies and the clients do. Besides being able to ask for quotations from a large number of suppliers without calling an intermediary, making several telephone conversations or searching the web, many market places encourage online offering where suppliers are competing for the best one. Both Virgin Charter and Streamline Jet provide online bidders.

ChartersX has just started a similar programme - RealQuote - which offers a live, online quote and reservation facility with our take-off partner Segrave Aviation and Pegasus Elite. "A number of obstacles have hindered the airline charter business from achieving the speed and costefficiency that e-commerce has offered business travellers for a decade," said CharterX's Betlyon.

" The company recently started the Ready Five programme, a continuous popup function on the client's computer screen that alerts clients when an airline publishes a ticket on the website that meets the client's specified requirements.

the popup window can inform you when an airline books a trip between these towns or within a certain area. It is free for clients, but the airline will charge a $100 lump sum to actually book a ticket. The CharterMatrix differs slightly from other market places because it earns its living with advertisements on its website and develops online course schemes for other airlines.

ChartersX does not bill a fee, but a member must become an Industry XChange or XChange Premium member in order to use the site. Charter Matrix website provides several advanced ways to find and choose flights using a chart query feature and a query boards. Colour encoded chart searching allows you to choose a location and see all charter flights available in that location, or you can query certain locations using the query panel.

They also publish information, as well as the availabilities of aeroplanes and timetables, and then await clients to get in touch with them. Well, now that you have an inkling of the difference between websites, don't be shy to ask a question when you find a website that looks great. Find out what kind of business it is - a Part 135 owner, a stockbroker or a market place - and how it rates the security of the plane.

For example, does it only use heavily valued operator? They can also ask for a commission, as each brokers and market place probably charges something different.