What's Next for the Charter Jet Industry

What could be better than traveling in a private jet? How about having access to any private jet that fits your needs, only when you need it? For those who can afford to travel by private jet, the hassles sometimes outweigh the benefits... but that is all changing.

Chartering a jet used to require a lot of calling around to get just a few quotes for a trip, since you need to find the right fit for your party and your trip on a plane that is available when you want to fly. For this very reason, the commercial aviation industry has come to embrace services like Travelocity that allow customers to compare quotes and schedules in one convenient place. Until recently, such a place has not existed for charter customers, but Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin companies saw this need and created Virgin Charter, which launched this past March.

In a press release from March 4, 2008, Virgin Charter commented that this "launch marks the conclusion of the closed beta period during which an exclusive group of corporate and individual buyers utilized the marketplace." This will revolutionize the charter industry. Up to this point, no other company has offered an end-to-end online forum for finding, managing, paying for and rating charter operators.

With the respectable Virgin name behind an incredible concept, the marketplace idea of Virgin Charter is catching attention in the private aviation industry and is likely to be a catalyst for change in the industry as a whole. Virgin Charter takes the guess work out of the process, since chartering a jet used to be like going on a blind date. You never knew what you were going to get until you showed up. Virgin Charter uses only the safest and best operators in the industry and has found a way to keep everyone happy.

While some have expressed mixed emotions about the changing scene in the charter market, most customers love the idea of being able to do everything online. Additionally, Virgin Charter offers "hot deals" on empty legs. Essentially, what this means is, if a charter jet company is located in California and has a client to pick up in New York, the plane has to fly anyway, so, as the Virgin Charter website warmly suggests, "Why not fill it with a friendly passenger? Great deals can be found by merely keeping the seats warm on an otherwise lonely flight."

What companies like Travelocity, Orbitz, and Expedia have done for commercial travel, Virgin Charter is about to do for charter aviation. Although the concept is still somewhat novel, it is sure to become the norm in the years to come.