PRIVATEFLY.COM: 'BUSINESS AVIATION IS MISSING AN UNTAPPED SALES OPPORTUNITY'

With growth and recovery key topics of discussion amongst the business aviation community at this year's EBACE 2011, the leading online booking platform, PrivateFly.com, believes a major 'untapped' opportunity exists for the charter sector, in the form of improving its business-to-business integration with the broader travel trade.

The company believes there is still much work to do to win over the travel trade to the benefits of private aviation - but that strong commercial opportunities exist for both parties.

Carol Cork, PrivateFly's sales & marketing director, comments: "The business efficiency of private aviation is widely accepted by the travel trade, but there is a need to accelerate its B2B positioning and understanding. With new business corridors opening up in emerging markets, airport closures in existing ones, and growing levels of dissatisfaction with airline travel, there is a strong opportunity to fill a gap in the travel agent's portfolio.

"Business aviation charter is not well-understood by the travel trade. It is viewed as having a complex and opaque pricing structure; as being too niche; and historically hasn't offered the immediacy of an online search and booking platform that travel agents expect. As an industry, we need to address these barriers head-on.

"There is a definite need for more agent education on the key sales triggers for business aviation and on the healthy margin revenue stream that it offers. However, from previous experience of other products, such as car hire, which have been successfully integrated as a trade sale, it's clear that online distribution is the real key to wider adoption."

PrivateFly provides private jet booking services to a number of travel brands including lastminute.com, Ten Lifestyle Management, Manchester Airports Group and Advantage Business Travel (the UK's largest consortium of business travel agents), on a commission-share basis. Its hybrid business model gives travel partners a tailored combination of instant online pricing and booking functionality - including a white-labelled version of its own website - along with a round-the-clock phone service for travel agents.

Cork continues: "This is an exciting distribution opportunity for private charter and at PrivateFly we are working hard to overcome the challenges to better connect these two industries. Private aviation is seeing developments in new technologies which will enable better sales relationships with third parties, such as the travel trade. Our aim should be to make charter an easy, agent-friendly sell for the travel industry, not a complex niche they would rather avoid."

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Notes to editors:

PrivateFly's CEO, Adam Twidell, and sales & marketing director, Carol Cork, will be attending EBACE 2011 on 17th and 18th May and are available for interview.