"Every Fractional Owner was once an On Demand Traveller"
The real customers for Charter Operators are those who invest in purchasing an aircraft and give management of the aircraft in the hands of the operators. Since all customers start their journey as an on demand or retail travellers, operators need access to this segment of new flyers who are considering investing in a private jet. On demand charter bookings are also important because a plane on ground is a liability to the business. The on demand market still makes over 51% of all charter revenue.
The Air Charter marketplaces offer a great way to the operators to sell charter flights.
The major sales channel for charter operators is through brokers but in the digital era where nearly 80% of travellers, family offices and travel solution providers search online for options, digital marketplaces are important. In this blog we compare available Air charter marketplaces, how they help charter Operators in marketing and what are the costs involved. We have only considered those marketplaces that connect the buyer and the seller directly. For the sake of clarity, we have included those marketplaces that display the name of the operator & allow buyer to connect directly with the seller. They are arranged alphabetically and not in any order of ranking. In the end we tabulate all the platforms and pick the best purpose they solve for brokers.
Avinode
Avinode is a well known B2B charter marketplace platform to connect Operators and Brokers. It is known to be easy to use and has built in payments. It also provides website widgets to its users. Pricing is quite steep for Operators starting at around $ 300/- per month and additional fee per aircraft. For a typical fleet of around 5 it would cost an operator upwards of $800 a month depending on the class of the aircraft they market. It has a lock in for 6 months that needs to be paid upfront. You cannot try out the platform without undergoing application. Operators can connect only with brokers on this platform. It is good for you if your sales strategy is broker focussed.
You might like to explore if your budget allows.
Best for : Selling Charter flights to Brokers.
Aviapages
Aviapages is a web based platform, with an extensive directory of Operators, Brokers,FBO and tools for them. It lists the operators for free and allows limited free searches per month by the users. Paid plans start at around $50/mo. Operators can list for free. Since the users are mostly brokers operators can expect few enquiries.
Best for : General Directory Listing
Charter Pad
Similar to Open Point Charter Pad is a web based platform that allows B2B users to search for Operators and send requests. You cannot create a free account to explore the platform from the website. You will need to undergo onboarding to figure it out but the website indicates that it is somewhat similar to flyeasy. The Operator onboarding is unclear and it is positioned as a marketplace for brokers and operators.
You will not be able to create a account without contacting them and pricing is not disclosed.
Easy Charter
Easy Charter is the new entrant in the market that is focussed on B2C marketing. What stands out about Easy Charter is that it doesn't stop at making a request but offers features such as chat with file sharing that makes closing deals faster. App users can find Operators and one ways in their search. A large number of empty legs are listed on the platform. The search is through a prompt and connections are enabled through realtime chat rather than emails. The fee is $99 a month for listing with two aircraft and two users. This is the go to place if your sales strategy includes B2C.
Best for : Getting direct leads from travellers and engage inbound enquiries.
Open Point by Fly Easy
Fly Easy is a web based North America focussed platform that markets one ways and empty legs. Website visitors can visit the site, search for empty legs or operators and send requests. The fee is not publicly available but estimated to be in excess of $3000/- yearly with an lock in period of one year with quoting and sales management.
Best for: Marketing and sales
Single Point
Single Point is an all in one charter software solution that includes sales and marketing along with operations for Operators. It integrates with Easy Charter so that availabilities created in single point get listed on easy charter as well and enquiries from easy charter flow into single point for quoting and trip management.
Best for : Sales, marketing and operations.
The comparison chart and what each of these platform do best for Operators is tabulated below.
| Platform | Core Features for Operators | Pricing | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open Point / Fly Easy | Marketing and Sales | Undisclosed | Has a lot of Operators listed. Integrates with NBAA Airmail system. | Yearly Lock In |
| Avinode | Market Fleet and One ways to select brokers. | Typically around $700 / month for a fleet size of under 5. lock in 6 months | Proven Platform | Steep Pricing & Lock In |
| Aviapages | Directory Listing | Free | Easy Listing | -- |
| Easy Charter | B2C Marketing & Sales | Free Listing | Industry first features such as real time chat in a multi user environment. | -- |
| Single Point | B2B & B2C Marketing & Sales + Operations | $ 99 / month | Multi dimensional marketing & feature rich on charter workflows. Integrates with NBAA Airmail system. |