Business Jet Aligns Charter Operators to Find and Sell Empty Seats

Business Jet Seats, a new venture based in West Palm Beach, Fla., is on the hunt to aggregate and fill empty charter jet seats and generate more revenue for its member charter operators.

Here’s how it works: Customers arrange for charter jet seats through Business Jet Seats' network of operators, as they would book airline seats. Business Jet then searches local markets for seating. Its pricing reflects availability, local market nuances and the quantity of seats booked simultaneously by a client. For example, the price for three seats booked together might be 70 percent of regular aircraft charter. However, for one seat booked at a time, the price is more likely to be only 50 percent off regular service.

Dean Rotchin, a principal of Business Jet Seats says that as air charter service is being commoditized, this model offers more revenue per flight than what conventional charters provide. “The customer pays less per seat, and the operator makes more money for that flight,” he adds.

The aggregation approach could also attract more airline flyers.

“Airlines are becoming less convenient, the number of passengers is rising and on-time ratings are the worst in history,” Rotchin says. “Our per-seat-charter system allows less affluent travelers access to the convenience of private air charter service, in affordable by-the-seat pieces.”