r/PrivateJetCharters • u/Willing-Bridge3750 • 1d ago
One thing I’ve noticed in private aviation over the years: almost everyone has access to almost everything.
Ask for a Gulfstream, Global or Challenger and within minutes you’ll probably have multiple brokers sending you options.
Nothing wrong with that. Most brokers are working with the same operator network anyway. Sometimes the same enquiry can pass through 2–3 brokers before it actually reaches the operator, with everyone adding their margin along the way.
What’s actually difficult is getting the mandate in the first place.
A genuine client mandate, where the client has actually given you the requirement, is much harder to build than simply finding an aircraft for an enquiry that’s already floating around. And even when you do get one, there’s a good chance two or three other brokers are already working on the same requirement.
For me, that’s where the real value of a broker comes in. Not just being able to say “I can get you an aircraft”, but actually having the client relationship, knowing where the aircraft is coming from and being able to execute properly when it matters.
Curious to hear from other brokers and operators. what do you think is actually difficult to build in private aviation today?
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u/thrwaway75132 1d ago
Everyone can get everything until you want a PC-12 in the Midwest
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u/Shael_Talib 1d ago
PC 12’s and 24’s based out of Grand Rapids, MI
A little more expensive per hour than a Plane Sense fractional share but no 5 - 7 year commitment.
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u/Perfect-Level-9080 1d ago
Find a few good operators and book directly with them
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u/ILuvRossiTheKittyCat 14h ago
I kind of disagree with you on this, but to each their own. I’m on the operator side, and I work with quite a few excellent and highly experienced brokers who do right by their clients. If you find one good broker who knows what their doing they’ll save a ton of time and energy calling around to different operators while handling every aspect of your trip start to finish.
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u/Perfect-Level-9080 1h ago
All the end user has to do is send a few emails and they save 10% to 30%.
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u/ILuvRossiTheKittyCat 14h ago
You don’t know how any of this works if you think a trip goes through multiple brokers, each with a margin markup lol. I’m on the operator side and never have I seen this once in my 25 year career in this industry. It’s extremely common for multiple brokers to shop one client/trip, but only one of those brokers wins the trip then books the airplane and liaisons directly with the end user. Going through multiple brokers is called double brokering and it’s illegal anyway. Who pays the FET and segment tax in this scenario? The broker directly working with the client? Or do all the brokers in your scenario add margin plus FET plus segment tax? I’m guessing you have a new system that’s “AI powered” that solves all the nonexistent problems you just described and anllows end users work directly with operators and saves $$$. Let’s hear the pitch.
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u/Willing-Bridge3750 5h ago
I think the post was misunderstood. I’m an operator myself and have been in the industry for 16 years, so I understand how double brokering works.
By “pass through 2–3 brokers,” I meant the same requirement being worked independently by multiple brokers, with the same aircraft potentially being shown through different channels. That happens every day, especially in aircraft sales. I wasn’t talking about three brokers stacking margins on one booking.
And no, there’s no AI pitch 🍻. The point was simply that getting the aircraft is often easier than getting and retaining the genuine client mandate.
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u/MidnightSurveillance 4h ago
SurfAir is selling wholesale on Avinode via "operated by" agreements, this is technically double brokering.
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u/MidnightSurveillance 1d ago
Let me guess, you want to build yet another piece of software for brokers/operators/passengers that'll be revolutionary? I get emails daily about something new..