Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

On December 8 in Dubai, Jet Scout is launching its new online charter-booking platform, which aims to serve charter end-users, charter operators (certificate holders) and brokers. Jet Scout was developed by Switzerland-based Aeronautica Consulting &amp; Software Development, which was founded by Stefano Costi, a developer of business aviation software since 1989.


Jet Scout, according to Costi, “is open to all parties. It’s a new way to acquire new clients and [not to] let them go. It’s a new way to conquer the market.” The Jet Scout team is well aware of competing charter platforms, such as Avinode, JetSmarter, Stratajet, PrivateFly, FlyOtto and others, and Costi did its homework to evaluate the competition. “We assembled a team of experts to ‘crash test’ platforms and find out the inefficiencies of current marketplaces, apps and websites,” he said.


From a charter customer’s perspective, Jet Scout is designed to make it easy to source a charter trip by simply asking for a quote. The user just specifies the departure point and destination, the times and dates and any pertinent information such as the number of passengers (and accompanying pets, if applicable) and other needs.


Jet Scout then takes that information and delivers it to the inbox of registered operators so they can choose whether to provide a quote to that potential customer. Jet Scout will be able to automatically create a quote, provided the master data that operators enter into the system is accurate enough. It will even take into account special routing considerations, for example, the need to avoid overflying certain war-torn countries; or fees associated with certain routes. For automatic quotes to work, operators would also need to provide detailed pricing information as well as their valid air operator certificate. The goal, Costi explained, is that “pricing should be done in a way that is binding.”


Quoting Mechanism


Initially, the charter customer will see a quote for a particular category of airplane that can fulfill the flight request. For a long-range flight, for example, this could be an ultra-long-range jet such as a large-cabin Gulfstream or Bombardier Global. But if the price is too high for that category, the customer could ask for something smaller if willing to accept an interim fuel stop. Again, the quality of the master data is paramount to make sure accurate quotes are given. Jet Scout already has stored 140 aircraft types with performance numbers plus information on 35,000 airports around the world.


When the quote is ready, the customer will see the airplane type, photos of the aircraft and information about the operator, and the operator will see the customer’s information, so they can make the final reservations and agree on payment terms or negotiate additional changes. The idea is to initialize the trip online, he explained, then let the parties talk on the telephone.


The Jet Scout engine is available to charter operators and brokers, and both can use the system to create their own “white label” platform. Charter operators can also use Jet Scout to source lift when their own aircraft are busy. “We are opening the door, and everybody is welcome,” he said.


Another way that Jet Scout helps charter/management firms is by managing the aircraft owner’s flights. Instead of the typical round of multiple phone calls and emails between the owner’s assistant and the management firm, the assistant can simply jump onto Jet Scout and make the booking directly. “We download that request to [the management firm’s] scheduling system,” Costi said.


Jet Scout will earn revenue from charter operators and brokers that use the system, which will pay a licensing fee based on a percentage of the amount invoiced for a trip. When brokers and operators use Jet Scout to create their own white label business, this will not appear to the charter customer as Jet Scout. All inquiries generated by the white label company will go directly to that company. White label charter companies will have to pay a per-aircraft fee or a bundle price for a fleet of aircraft.


Ultimately, by creating a platform where many charter operators and brokers work together, charter users will see the benefit, because more aircraft will be available to fill their needs. “Imagine we have 100 platforms at the end of day,” Costi mused. “If everybody wants their own white label, that will be a huge success, because we can stitch together the platform.”

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