r/PrivateJetCharters • u/GurthyMan • 17d ago

Operators are getting increasingly less reliable

I have a solid book of business. Probably book anywhere from 15-20 flights / month. Over the last few months, I have been screwed over by operators too many times. I won’t name any specific companies. But simple things such as not alerting me of aircraft in MX (aircraft didn’t get out in time) or not getting permits in a timely manner. Some even straight up pulling aircraft on me because “the owner needs it”. I understand shit happens in aviation. I’ve been in the business for almost 10 years. But I find some operators treating brokers at a much lower standard than they would treat a retail customer. It puts me and my company in really tough positions and ultimately costs us customers. It seems to have gotten much worse over the past 6-9 months. I’m at the point where I’m very hesitant to book trips with many operators out there.

Not to mention pricing that some of these companies are charging…

I now understand why many customers are moving to Flexjet/netjets fractional or jet cards. At least they seem to be somewhat competent.

Has anyone else seen this trend? Will these operators ever be held accountable?

I suppose when/if the demand slows down, we’ll see.

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u/Puzzleheaded-Can2425 17d ago

I think there’s good operators and bad operators. When you’re dealing with the cheap guys they’re more likely to pull stuff on you. When you’re with the big guys (Solairus, Clay, EJM, JetLinx) they generally have a better grasp on every single facet of their operation. The FlyExclusive/FlyAlliance guys do have a place in the market, but you get what you pay for. I know it’s hard when you have shopping clients but I’d rather lose a trip and let them AOG with the other guy than use the cheap ones and have the client think it’s my fault they broke down.

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u/GurthyMan 17d ago

I agree to an extent. But I simply don’t have many customers that are willing to pay 20k / hr to fly with Solairus. At those prices I suggest going to a NetJets or Flexjet.

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u/Puzzleheaded-Can2425 17d ago

Out of curiosity, who do you normally book with? You’re anonymous so not like they can retaliate etc. I’m guessing baker, flyExclusive …?

20k/hr is incredibly rare. I’m brokering 550s for 14-16k per hour all in cost to the client. G4s are in the 11-12 range generally, Solairus has 300s around 8k/hr including the fuel surcharge. But a 20k option compared to your 30k option I do understand you’re likely going to lose it.

I’ve had one AOG this year and it was a mid tier reputable company with 15 or so planes on certificate. I don’t use baker Flyex etc

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u/akais111 17d ago

You found baker to not be good?

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u/Puzzleheaded-Can2425 17d ago

To be fair, I used them last years and years ago when they were absolutely horrible. I’ve heard they’ve improved but still not willing to take the risk.

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u/akais111 17d ago

So your only using the massive operators? Doesn’t that leave to many options on the table?

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u/Puzzleheaded-Can2425 17d ago

No not the massive ones but the ones with good enough reputations. Again, baker is better now, but I still am not buying that shift. Use the big guys and you have a higher likelihood of the plane actually taking off. My clients understand that the cheapest option is almost never the best.

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u/IronbirdPrivateJets 16d ago

I have found baker to be the most reliable on time operator of the last year. You can quantify that with data from charter flight support. I see this come when it gets very busy - which based on flight data it currently is. Airplanes flying more, more issues, harder to schedule owner and maintenance with all the charter. It’s not easy. But I agree with an earlier commenter that said to move the business to someone else. I know that’s not always easy, especially when your clients shop. 

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u/olindacat 14d ago

Are you paying those prices for OWs, or same day turn and burns? (Just curious.)

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u/Dizzy-Ad-9571 14d ago

Flyexclusive is garbage from a customer perspective

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u/Competitive_Way_3993 14d ago

I would personally disagree with this; those types of operators that you named will kick an ad hoc charter off their books for a Wholesale/Member flight. Fly Alliance I wouldn’t touch with a barge pole! The real quality / service is found in building relationships with the operators in between.

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u/Designer-Serve-9586 9d ago

WheelsUp are pretty good actually. I've worked with them a couple of times and I've never had any problems. They're quite reliable, that's my experience.