WALTHAM, Mass. -- In the past few months, quite a few Web-based
businesses have formed partnerships with CRS companies in an
attempt to market their services through travel agencies.
It's been done with on-line reservations systems in the golf and
restaurant industries.
Now, FlightTime.com, an on-line jet charter broker here, is
attempting to reach a greater number of potential customers by
partnering with Amadeus and its subscriber agencies.
Travel agencies that use Amadeus' on-line booking system,
E-Business@Amadeus, now can book private business jets for
corporate customers via FlightTime.com, whose booking engine has
been added as a resource for Amadeus agencies.
FlightTime said Amadeus agents would receive a cut of
FlightTime's commission from charter operators.
David McCown, vice president of business development at
FlightTime.com, declined to say exactly how those commissions would
be split but said "in most cases it will be higher than the maximum
of $50 that agents receive from airlines."
Also, FlightTime, which books domestic and international
charters, said it will pay Amadeus a transaction fee for each
charter booked by an Amadeus agency, but declined to reveal the
amount.
"We want to work with agents to help them grow their business,
which includes providing access to relevant Internet-based content
and services," said Tony Fernandez, Amadeus' director of
e-business.
"With charter information at their fingertips, agents will find
it easy to recommend charters to suit the specialized needs of
their customers."
McCown said that the CRS's cut could be a percentage of
FlightTime's commission or a standard flat fee. At any rate,
FlightTime views its shared-revenue model as a distribution cost
that could help boost charter sales.
The opportunity for agents to earn extra revenue sounds
appealing, but McCown admitted that a link to FlightTime's booking
engine isn't enough. After all, most passengers who fly business
jets usually contact the charter broker directly.
McCown said that approximately 80% of FlightTime's customers do
just that, and about 20% of its inquiries come from travel
agents.
"Travel agents have never been trained to sell charter and often
don't know when charter makes sense," said McCown. "We're trying to
change that."
Educating agents about charter, said McCown, will require
familiarization with FlightTime's Web site and open lines of
communication.
"It's a huge challenge, and [establishing] the integrated
interface with Amadeus is not going to be enough," said McCown.
"There will have to be direct contact between our business
development people and Amadeus travel agents who focus on high-end
travelers."
McCown said that in addition to receiving a cut of FlightTime's
commission from charter operators, agencies also have the option of
charging a service fee to customers for executing a private jet
booking.
If Amadeus agencies choose to charge a service fee, FlightTime
strongly encourages them to reveal the amount of the service charge
before adding it to the total price.
FlightTime was a brick-and-mortar operation from 1985 to 1998,
when it acquired AirCharterNet and then became FlightTime.com.
FlightTime lists benefits of air charter
By Jerry Limone
WALTHAM, Mass. -- Many of the air charter brokers reported an
in-crease in sales over the summer, and those com-panies are citing
the business traveler's frustra-tion with record delays at
commercial airports as the reason why.
Still, no matter how fed up a business traveler is with crowded
airports and delayed flights, business jet charter is not a viable
option for the traveler who regularly flies coach.
However, if one can afford it, here are the benefits of
chartering a private jet, according to FlightTime.com:
Flexible scheduling. Flights can be scheduled according to your
agenda, allowing more efficient use of your time.Point-to-point travel. The traveler can fly non-stop to
precisely the places he or she wishes to go. Any stopovers are
based on the traveler's needs.Wide airport choice. A business jet can fly in and out of the
smaller, less congested airports that could be closer to a
traveler's home, office or destination.Procedural simplicity. With executive air charter, a traveler
does not have to worry about airportand airline procedures, such as check-in and baggage claiming,
nor waiting on line to board or depart the plane.
In-flight privacy. Aboard chartered aircraft, one travels with
passengers of his or her choice and eats what was ordered in
advance.Also, there is the opportunity to discuss business without
disturbing others.
Time saved is money earned. As the smaller airports handle less
traffic, take-off and landing delays are quite rare.Also, one could factor in the increased productivity that
results from less stressful travel and the possibility of getting
work done on the jet.