International aircraft charter specialists Chapman Freeborn has announced a new service
offering immediate worldwide support to smaller business jet brokers and operators
undertaking charters in unfamiliar, challenging or financially restrictive regions.
The Global Broker programme will enable firms to call upon Chapman Freeborn’s network of
more than 450 staff based in over 30 offices worldwide.
They will offer international charter expertise and flight support services, including over-flight permits, ground handling and fuelling, to fellow charter brokers, operators, luxury partners,
concierges, and family offices.
The company, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, is responding to demand from
the emerging markets for private jet charter - particularly Brazil, India, Russia, Africa and
China - by formalising existing ad-hoc arrangements to support partner brokers.
Partnering companies will be able to call on Chapman Freeborn’s global buying power and
close relationships with operators and airlines worldwide, as well as its ability to secure good
credit terms.
When partners enter into an agreement with Chapman Freeborn they will be contractually
protected too, with a non-compete clause.
Alex Berry, Chapman Freeborn’s Group Marketing and Sales Director said: “We are bucking
the trend in the wider industry by offering support to smaller brokerages to help achieve the
high standards business customers expect, rather than looking to undermine and undercut
them.”
Chris Moody, owner of Fractional Jet Europe, has enjoyed partnering with Chapman
Freeborn these past two years. “Our clients demand the best quality solution possible
wherever they fly. It is important too to work with a broker who respects me as a partner and
respects my client relationships. The team at Chapman Freeborn deliver all this, and more.
Chapman Freeborn respects that my clients’ information is confidential and I can share this
with them in confidence.”
There are thousands of charter brokers employed in the market today, and that number is
growing continually. An increasing number are single or two-person operations with limited
overheads, often with niche expertise, working with limited working capital and a small client
base.
Charter brokerage industry is not regulated:
“It is important in an industry where there is no regulation, that the smaller players have
somewhere reputable to turn to for advice to help them navigate complex requests when
they are out of their comfort zones” said Alex Berry.
“For example, a West Coast, US based broker regularly chartering jets out of Van Nuys to
Miami for a US client working with a handful of local operators, is likely to be best in class at
his work. However, they will quickly discover a completely different set of challenges tasked
with arranging a flight from, say, Malawi to Peru.
“Time and time again we have seen customers suffer a bad experience because their broker
simply didn’t have the local knowledge. This is where we can make the difference and add
value to the broker and most importantly to the customer” added Berry.
The US is without question the largest market for private aviation:
Alex also commented, ahead of NBAA (22th- 24th October 2013, Las Vegas, NV)
“The US is without question the most significant nation in the world when it comes to
international trade. It is also by far the largest market for private aviation and is likely to
remain so for the foreseeable future. However, key to the industry’s long-term success is how U.S. based operators and charter companies harness growth potential in other parts of
the world.
Working with Chapman Freeborn will help open up other markets and increase revenuegenerating
opportunities. US corporations are truly global and invest in markets around the
world, but US jet providers are not able to replicate their coverage or quality of service in
China, Asia, Africa, South America, Russia and other key markets.
The Global Broker initiative allows jet operators and charter companies to utilise Chapman
Freeborn’s global network of over 30 offices to offer their local clients professional flight
solutions anywhere in the world.
The service also opens up the possibility of combining scheduled flights and charter. Even if
a multinational corporation owns its own G550, for example, it might cost $120k just to fly
their team to Beijing, whereas they can travel first class for $30k, then pick up a suitable jet
in Beijing for their onward journey in China and Asia.
Alex continued: “In fast-developing markets charter companies also need to stay on top of
regulation. When chartering in unfamiliar regions, clients need to be careful not to fall into
territory of illegal or grey market charter. It is important to have someone on the ground that
speaks the local language, understands the culture and acts as the local interface - including
checking and verifying aircraft documentation.”
