F-90 Driver

Hi everyone,

How legal is charter brokering? Is the FAA trying to stop it?

I do not really know much about it besides the negative aspects. I was just trying to be more enlightened about why it is not generally liked.

Thanks.

F-90 Driver

Sorry, should be in the charter forum.

GauleyPilot

Brokers are a middleman. They add their cut to a charter, making it higher for the customer than if they called the charter company directly.

They used to be notorious for "sandbagging" you by not giving you all the facts about a trip. Telling you to it was a 3pm departure when it was really a 4:30pm departure----just to make sure you would be there on time. (What do you mean duty time limits?) Telling you it was two people in the piston twin for a three hour flight---only to have 5 show up. ( I don't understand why you can't take them, you have plenty of extra seats.)

I think the modern high end brokers are better than the back-in-the-day small time ones.

Ziggy

In the past Brokers were also selling the product as their own and not making it known that they were just the bookie and not the operator. This does violate FAA regs, because you have to hold a carrier certificate to advertise commercial products.

i121ADX

Ok,

The FAA is not trying to stop charter brokering. It is legal if you have a Direct or Indirect Air Carrier Certificate.

Number 1. When it comes to brokering, not all airlines offer door to door service. Some only offer aircraft only. Therefore, the customer has to setup the load, offload, trucking, and all the other fees on top of it. As a broker, we setup the door to door and handle all customs documentation so the customer doesn't have to. Also, not all air carriers have the same a/c. If the customer wants a prop and jet option, I cannot call Kalitta because they don't have a charter prop. You get what I'm saying? We give the customer multiple options so they don't have to call multiple carriers.

Number 2.

You give the customer the facts or you don't get another trip with them. Plus, if you give the wrong times, have fun paying for an assembly line down.

NUmber 3.

It's more cost effective to call a broker than it is to call an airline direct. Because brokers call the airlines and book charters with the same airlines constantly, we have more pull with the pricing than the customer does. An airline is more likely to give a broker the lesser rate.

Number 4.

Being a broker is an easy way to make money. If you aren't booking charters, don't yell and complain to everyone, talk to your company's sales and marketing director and yell at them.

effsharp

" It's more cost effective to call a broker than it is to call an airline direct. Because brokers call the airlines and book charters with the same airlines constantly, we have more pull with the pricing than the customer does. An airline is more likely to give a broker the lesser rate. "



A broker may or may not get a lesser price than a direct customer does. However, it depends on the broker's mark-up which decides the cheaper way to go. The smart customer learns to avoid the middle-man. It really is not relevant what rate the broker receives from the operator. That broker will in turn charge a market rate to the customer and pocket the difference. Its called business. But to suggest using a broker to act as your middle-man as a way to save money, well this is nonsense.

i121ADX

Ok, call Royal Air in PTK and get a door to door rate. They will laugh in your face. I'm saying as a broker, I have better pull than a customer who never charters. I'm also able to find the right aircraft to fit the customer's need. I guarentee you that the customer doesn't know about ma and pa Seneca II operator out of TOL or a Bandit operator out of R47. Yeah they can call big airline, but they don't have all the aircraft that the customer wants to utilize. Why give a Lear rate when a Aztec will be just fine?

effsharp

I agree with everything you say. Brokers are a very important part of the charter industry. No doubt an honest and knowledgable broker is well worth the cost. But there is a cost. Thats all.

Fr8DogDan

I'd rather fly for a broker than do all that work myself. Setting up trucking, finding the right aircraft,etc. I'll just bid on a trip and let the broker take the headache.
By the way !121ADX, do you need another aircraft in your list? I'm south of TOL a bit and used to fly those Bandits out of R47. Right now, they are down due to economy and probably won't be back none too soon.

GauleyPilot

i121adx, you seem like a smart broker. I like working with brokers like you. Brokers are indeed a good source of business for charter companies.

My views on brokers are from a passenger carrying operation prespective. While I have been impressed with several passenger charter brokers, some of my experiences with brokers have made for some interesting stories.