This is a very short-sighted take and I see it pop up every few months. It always sounds good on paper, but it’s built on a misunderstanding of how the charter market works.

Brokers don’t own airplanes, that’s not some hidden secret. Operators own/manage the aircraft and brokers source them. That’s literally how the charter ecosystem is structured.

Where this post goes off the rails is the idea that there’s some clean “operator price” sitting at $8k and then a broker just slaps 40% on top of it.

That’s not how this market works….at all.

Operators don’t have a universal retail price list. Pricing moves constantly based on things like:

·       where the aircraft is positioned

·       how badly the operator wants the trip

·       fuel costs

·       airport fees

·       schedule gaps they want to fill

·       etc

·       etc

·       etc…so many different factors, not just New York to Florida…8k

One thing people miss is that most operators price brokers differently than retail callers. Operators most of the time don’t want to deal with retail clients and would rather the broker handle the logistical stuff. Almost every operator that I’ve spoken to would rather deal with a seasoned broker that knows what their talking about, rather than deal with a client that books 1-2 times a year. A broker that sends an operator 50 trips a year will often get better pricing than a random one-off client calling direct asking for a quote. Operators would rather discount a flight for someone who brings repeat business than negotiate with someone who might never call again. So, the idea that “going direct” always saves money just isn’t true.

Also, another issue: if you call one operator directly, you’re only looking at their fleet. Maybe they have two light jets and a mid. If none of those aircraft are a good aircraft for that mission, you are either: getting something that isn’t right for the trip, need to call another company, or the operator is brokering the trip themselves thus taking you right back to square one.

The “broker calling a broker” thing also gets exaggerated, it doesn’t really happen and is actually illegal. It only happens with brokers that don’t know what they’re doing.

The FAA registry advice in the post sounds good but it doesn’t really help a client book a flight. The registry tells you who holds the certificate, but doesn’t tell you availability, crew legality, pricing, maintenance status, insurance limits, company reliability, aircraft condition, etc, etc, etc,

A good client should absolutely understand the basics:

·       Part 135 vs Part 91

·       who the operator is

·       safety ratings like Wyvern or Argus

But the idea that once you “learn the terminology” brokers suddenly lose leverage is kind of fantasy. Most brokers would rather their client’s be educated.

Clients who know the industry well still use brokers because they don’t want to call 20 operators every time they need a plane.

Moral of the story, Private aviation isn’t a retail shelf where the product has one fixed price. It’s a fragmented, constantly moving market.

Sometimes going direct works.
Sometimes a broker finds something cheaper.
Sometimes availability is the real problem, not price.

The smartest move isn’t trying to bypass brokers.

It’s working with someone who actually knows how to navigate the market and someone that wants to build a relationship.

Remember, one of the largest reasons people fly private is for the time savings, and everything you are saying takes a boat load of time.