Some charter customers focus too intently on the price of a flight without sufficiently considering the many factors that feed into the success of a trip, according to broker Chapman Freeborn. At the recent Corporate Jet Investor (CJI) conference in Dubai, Steffen Fries, advisor to the company’s CEO, warned that this attitude is especially prevalent in the Middle East, where he said clients will haggle over a quote difference as small as $500 without understanding what separates one proposal from another.
“In many markets, someone can begin selling a $100,000 flight without first demonstrating that they understand the operational and regulatory requirements behind it,” Fries said. “That does not mean every small or new broker lacks expertise. There are excellent brokers of all sizes. The problem arises when limited experience is combined with promises that an operator cannot fulfill.”
In Chapman Freeborn’s view, excessive focus on a charter price can blind customers to important details, such as whether an operator has the right permits and whether the airports proposed for a trip are suitable. The group said it is also concerned that price pressure can increase the prevalence of gray-market charters in which an operator is not legally qualified to fly for hire. Again, Fries told the CJI audience that this risk is especially high in the Middle East, where there are a large number of privately owned jets.
According to Fries, the increased use of artificial intelligence is also changing the charter sector by potentially making charter pricing and availability more visible to end users. He indicated this doesn’t necessarily spell the end of the role of brokers, but it could threaten some in the industry.
“If the broker’s only role is to find an aircraft and a price, technology may eventually make that role obsolete,” he concluded. “But complex charter operations involve much more than that. Someone still needs to bring together permits, airport requirements, customs, crew considerations, ground transport, and contingency planning.”
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