June 27, 2005 How To Better Compete With Direct Offers Made By Private Jet Operators: 1. Stored Inventory This product is designed to allow you to compete with offers made by private jet operators who are not on the BusinessJet Class system. It is most suited when you are booking 2 weeks or more in advance. IMPORTANT: Remember that the majority of private jet operators do not own their aircraft. Their charter quotes are always subject to "availability AND owner's approval." The industry norm is "First come, First served". When a paying customer contacts the operator to book a trip, regardless of how many quotes have been made for the same day and equipment, it will be sold to them. There is no guarantee that the aircraft or aircraft type referenced on a quote received from an operator, will be available when your customer decides to book. Likewise with BusinessJet Class, when your customer has received your Stored Inventory quote and would like to book the aircraft, the aircraft may or may not, at that time, be available. If the Aircraft is available when you complete a PNR, the operator will confirm the reservation and hold the aircraft for your passenger. In this case your PNR's segment status is updated to KK. If the Operator is unable to confirm the requested aircraft, s/he may suggest a different one. Frequently, the prices will vary from the original quote. If time permits, BusinessJet Class staff will survey the operators around your departure point and attempt to locate an available aircraft that is identical or similar to the one you quoted for the same rate you quoted. Since we only use ARG/US Gold or Platinum Rated operators you do not have to worry about safety standards. BusinessJet Class' best effort notwithstanding, the closer your booking gets to the departure date, the more difficult it will be to satisfy your requests. This is the current state of the industry and the reason why more experienced corporate executives will use a "Guaranteed Availability" product such as Sentient's or Marquis' or BusinessJet Class', or alternatively, become aircraft owners themselves. 2. Guaranteed Aircraft Availability The typical passenger is a savvy private jet passenger who makes last minute decisions about his/her itineraries. The passenger may have varying requirements for large, mid-size, and light jets and needs the same privileges that an aircraft owner would, but without the commitment to aircraft ownership. This BusinessJet Class product line is simplified and includes one-way fares and an APEX Fare with a 7-day advance purchase discount and no minimum stay requirement. The Hourly rate on the APEX fare is priced at about 10%-15% lower than the full fare. IMPORTANT: Rates on Guaranteed availability products are higher than standard charter because the operator might have to reposition an aircraft from very far away to pick up the passenger at the appointed location. Repositioning fees are not billed separately, but rather they are averaged and included in the hourly rate. Another reason why rates are higher is that only the larger operators participate in this product. The insurance levels on a Guaranteed availability product is upward of USD 100 Million per aircraft per incident, whereas smaller operators offer a USD 50 Million insurance that is often aggregated over their whole fleet. BusinessJet Class Travel Agency Newsletter - Serving you with more information on how to succeed in selling private jets - 27 June 2005 To unsubscribe from our mailing list please visit this page.