Private jet hire companies

With the peak season approaching for private jet chartering in the region, fliers would do well not to be taken in by the tall claims put forth by some brokers. If they do, a lot of air could seep in between what was promised and what fliers actually have to put up. "They are what we call ‘coffee table brokers', when someone sets up a company from his own home and doesn't have the backup of a large organisation or effective systems behind him," said Hugh Courtenay, founder and chief executive of UK company Private Jet Charter, which entered the Dubai market a decade ago. "There are few barriers to entry to this market, but only a company with years in the business can be relied upon to provide the A-Z service required by VIP clients." It could include guaranteed replacement in case the originally chosen aircraft was found to have a technical problem on the day of flying. "With the ‘cowboys' they cannot be trusted to provide the service and, in some cases, have been known to take a client's money and then disappear with it," said Courtenay. "If a client goes to a broker who doesn't have the back-up of systems, market knowledge and relationships with aircraft owners, they will not get the service and professionalism they require." Air chartering services in the region had a good start to the year, but results are not so good at the half-way mark. The issues that have kept the region in the global spotlight during this period influenced demand, particularly among corporate clientele, according to industry sources. One chartering operator confirmed that his flying hours were down by 15 per cent since early March and that only a strong showing in summer will set the course straight. It's a sentiment shared by others, with the summer usually accounting for 30 to 40 per cent of their annual business. But Courtenay begs to differ about the downbeat opinions expressed by his industry peers. "We have not seen a dip; our Dubai office posted the best first-quarter figures on record for any of our offices." Courtenay feels the business is coming together nicely for the lift in demand during the upcoming peak season, when private clients make up 70 per cent of bookings. "It is true business is always busy in summer, especially for the popular European destinations around the Mediterranean," he added. "Clearly the ongoing events in the Middle East have affected the travel industry all round and this has touched the private jet business. But high net-worth clients are still flying. "I can't say that the margins are any different for either of these groups of clients; the market dictates the cost of the service and clients are always free to shop around for the best product and price for their needs. "As we are brokers and not operators, we are not tied to specific aircraft from one fleet. "Indeed we often have operators requesting prices from us for their clients, as either their aircraft are not available or they don't own a suitable aircraft for the trip that clients would like to perform." For the company, its French and Russian operations were the stand-out performers in the year to date, with the UK office, which handles the rest of Europe and Asia, following close behind. To widen its geographic coverage, an office was opened in Florida in March. "Because we are international, we can co-ordinate trips that a local operator would have difficulty offering," Courtenay said. "We can coordinate cost-effective trips throughout the regions, both inter and intra. This is something a local operator in Dubai or Saudi Arabia might not be able to help their clients with." From / Gulf News