A Profile of Charter Operators: A Survey of On-Demand Carriers

Abstract

Several years ago, one of the authors made a presentation before the National Air Transportation Association Convention in Tampa, Florida concerning the elements of Aircraft Charter Pricing. In research for that project, it was found that a dearth of information was available to adequately describe some of the elements to be considered in making a blanket pricing arrangement. Particularly vexing was the fact that at the meeting itself several of the operators and operator representatives present were unfamiliar with the type of business structure employed by the Fixed Base operator (FBO) and some were unfamiliar with the make up of the demand elements of their operations. In 2003 and again in late 2004, the authors set out to study this anomaly by surveying large numbers of Fixed Base Operators in the United States. Using a Likert style survey methodology, a representative sample of the on-demand air carriers listed with the National Business Aviation Association was surveyed. The survey was designed to learn something about the business structure of the FBO, their aircraft mix, how many charter flights were flown annually; the number of employees engaged in the 135 portion of the FBO operation; experience levels and a host of, heretofore, unknown elements of he business. In short, the intent was to develop a snapshot of what a typical 135 operator looks like from its business structure to its operation matrix to how it maintains and supplies its basic product, charter aircraft.