-PrivateFly.com survey highlights opportunities for the private jet charter industry as it comes out of recession-
A recent survey of private jet charter operators by PrivateFly.com, the online booking platform, highlights
the major opportunities for the private jet industry as it recovers from the economic downturn.
Almost half (45 percent) of operators who responded agreed that the global recession has been their
single biggest challenge to date.
But ironically, for an industry that promises to deliver business efficiency for its customers, the
private charter market is remarkably inefficient. Nearly all (98 percent) recognised that the internet
was beginning to make the industry more efficient, but the wider results do indicate that there is
still a significant opportunity to improve efficiency.
"The charter industry is still highly fragmented and operates predominantly offline with many customers or
travel agents choosing the same operator each time they fly, or using a traditional broker.
There's an exciting opportunity to bring both transparency and online efficiency to this market,
reflecting how the wider travel industry has been transformed in the last ten years" said Adam Twidell,
CEO of PrivateFly.
Nearly two-thirds of operators (61 percent) prepare 20 or more quotes for every charter
sale with almost a quarter, (22 percent) saying that they prepare 40+ quotes per booking.
69 percent of operators believe price competitiveness is the single biggest factor in winning charter
business - above speed of returning a quote (17 percent) and their safety record (7 percent).
Commenting on the results, Twidell continued: "While the majority of operators see price competitiveness as
the biggest decision driver for private jet customers, they themselves feel strongly that customer service
and safety are paramount. But there are clearly areas of industry-wide inefficiency - and therefore the
opportunity for cost savings for both operators and customers"
Twidell recognises that there will always be a need for exceptional VIP customer service and industry
expertise, but he believes that these elements can be combined with online efficiencies that
benefit both sides.
"There are major industry challenges and innovations are already under way to tackle them. PrivateFly
brings together an online network of over 2700 global operators, presenting the customer or
travel agent with online price comparison tools - while making it quicker and easier for the
operators to prepare and submit a quote."
"We are matching up customer demand with operator supply, and we continue to add innovative pricing
tools such as our private jet cost calculator and iPhone app. For our aircraft operators,
we have introduced flight search tools and 360 degree imagery to market their aircraft
more broadly and effectively".
PrivateFly is an online booking network that makes it quicker, easier and more cost effective to arrange private jet charter.
With over 2700 accredited operators registered worldwide, PrivateFly is the only online aggregator for private jet charter in Europe.
PrivateFly combines online efficiency and transparency with offline expertise to offer a full-service VIP
charter service to direct customers and partners. The bespoke software has been created in-house specifically
to meet the needs of charter customers and operators.
In February 2010 PrivateFly launched the world's first iPhone application to provide instant private jet pricing on a mobile phone.
PrivateFly was recently announced as one of the Smarta 100 companies 2010, by a judging panel including
Dragon's Den's Deborah Meaden and other leading entrepreneurs, such as Bebo founder Michael Birch.
The company also won the innovation category of the Best Business Awards in February 2010.
Founded in 2007, the company is based in St Albans, Hertfordshire and has plans to expand within Europe and selected international markets throughout 2010.
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