3 Big Misunderstandings About Private Jet Charter Booking

Define ‘outdated’. The word refers to something that’s “no longer current; having passed its time of use or usefulness”.

Now look at your lengthy spreadsheet and today’s work plan as you seek to obtain a handful of closed business jet charter bookings. Can you afford to continue to invest in adapting old technology while trying to improve the efficiency of your request handling and deal confirmation process?

The current system so many business jet charter brokers and aircraft operators use isn’t working.

Behind the scenes, every broker and operator are looking to work more efficiently, with fewer cross-functional bottlenecks. But if their tools limit them from making the right decisions quickly, encouraging innovation, or engaging with customers in a more timely and personalized way, they won't be able to realize their true business potential or accelerate growth.

Following are three of the biggest misunderstandings by the Business Aviation community about the aircraft charter booking process…

1. Business Jet Charter Quotes & Negotiations are Time-Consuming

Traditional jet charter booking methods can be time-consuming and inefficient, involving a tedious back-and-forth exchange with lengthy email chains and phone calls. Constant availability checks, and multiple steps of manual confirmation processes are required.

These delays not only frustrate clients but limit the number of bookings brokers can close and reduce operational efficiency for aircraft operators. But what can you do? It’s just an inevitable fact of life, right? Wrong!

Automation is one of the many digital tools that businesses are now using to improve productivity and efficiency. VOO, the next-generation B2B marketplace for aircraft operators and charter brokers, automates the entire booking process, empowering real-time decision making. 

The platform utilizes live data on charter aircraft availability, logistics (including empty sectors), and airport pricing to generate instant, accurate automatic charter price calculation. This allows brokers to quickly present multiple options to clients, compare pricing transparently, and confirm bookings directly within the VOO platform, avoiding manual confirmation entirely.

This streamlined process eliminates tedious communication delays and saves valuable time for aircraft charter brokers and operators, empowering brokers to focus on securing deals and delivering exceptional client service and allowing operators to concentrate on attending to a well-utilized aircraft and increase the taxi/ferry-ratio and maximize profitability.

2. You Can’t Change Your Limited Visibility of Available Charter Aircraft

Securing the ideal aircraft for a client’s specific needs can be time-consuming, especially if the charter broker is relying solely on individual operator contacts. 

Aircraft availability information is often fragmented across individual charter operators, and brokers may need to contact multiple companies to find a suitable match. 

Manual updates and a lack of real-time integration can lead to inaccurate or outdated information on available aircraft. Limited filtering options often put brokers in the position of struggling to find aircraft that meet precise criteria.

Without a centralized system, and due to limited visibility brokers may miss out on empty leg opportunities, for example, that can offer significant cost savings for their clients.

By addressing these challenges, VOO highlights the importance of a centralized platform that offers real-time visibility into aircraft availability. VOO empowers brokers with a real-time, comprehensive database of pre-vetted aircraft from a range of operators that meet precise criteria (such as passenger sleeping capacity, pet, or smoking allowance, Wi-Fi availability, cold/hot meal availability as well as service standards on board the aircraft). These and other criteria are readily selected and applied on the VOO.

Brokers can access real-time availability across various aircraft categories, ensuring they find the perfect aircraft for their client’s charter requirements, whether it’s a long-range jet for a transatlantic trip or a smaller turboprop for a short regional hop. 

Additionally, VOO highlights empty leg opportunities, calculating discounts on usable empty sectors, allowing aircraft charter brokers to potentially offer clients significant cost savings.

3. Lack of Transparency, Hidden Fees and Opaque Pricing are a Fact of Life for Charter Bookings

Traditional aircraft charter quotes can vary significantly depending on the operator, negotiation tactics, and market fluctuations. Hidden fees and opaque pricing structures can erode trust between brokers, operators, and clients. Unexpected fees for things like positioning legs, de-icing, or catering can add significant costs to a charter flight. 

Complex pricing structures on the operator’s side with numerous variables can make it challenging for aircraft charter brokers to explain costs to clients clearly, and this lack of consistency makes it difficult for brokers to accurately predict the costs for clients, which can lead to concerns about fairness and value and make it difficult for brokers to confidently present options and close deals.

VOO tackles these challenges by promoting transparency throughout the charter booking process. Through trust and clarity, VOO fosters a collaborative environment where all parties involved have a clear understanding of the costs associated with each charter flight. 

All fees and charges on the VOO platform are upfront and readily available, allowing brokers to build trust with clients by presenting accurate and predictable charter prices.

Additionally, VOO offers real-time communication tools. Business jet charter brokers can receive immediate updates on booking status and share them with their clients, keeping everyone informed and minimizing potential delays.

Moreover, all brokers and charter aircraft operators on the platform undergo a verification process, ensuring only reputable business jet charter professionals connect with one another and facilitate their charter booking sales processes. 

Beyond Addressing the Challenges: The VOO Advantage

Utilizing outdated booking methods can hinder growth and limit competitiveness within the Business Aviation industry. Business jet charter brokers and operators need access to advanced technology tools to stay ahead of the curve and deliver a seamless client experience.

VOO recognizes the challenges faced and provides a comprehensive solution. By streamlining communication, automating processes and prioritizing transparency, VOO empowers aircraft charter industry professionals to close deals faster and deliver seamless and efficient charter for their clients.

The VOO platform fosters a collaborative environment positioning it as a valuable partner within the Business Aviation ecosystem, which benefits all stakeholders and contributes to the continued growth and success of the industry.

Now, who’s ready to finally tear a page out of their spreadsheet book and say enough is enough? If you haven’t gone through them yet, you’re about to complete all the steps: assessing the need, reviewing the current system, reconfiguring, customizing the process, etc.

Many of you are already testing VOO right now. It’s much better than the outdated system. To truly unlock VOO’s potential and revolutionize the way you work, the platform needs more action – not just more users. The more active users VOO has, from aircraft charter brokers finalizing bookings to operators facilitating flights, the more robust and efficient the platform becomes for everyone.

In a world of accelerated innovation, using the latest technology to do things better isn't just a perk – it’s a necessity. 

At VOO, the journey is not only about capitalizing on trends yourself but creating solutions allowing business jet charter professionals to keep up with them and stay ahead of the curve. Forget digital transformation; this is about increasing your readiness for the ever-changing business world!

More information from www.voo.aero