Following the successful introduction of its SchedAero quotation tool, charter specialists Avinode (Booth Q090) has launched a new mobile app this week at EBACE that facilitates the buying and selling of aircraft charters by providing anywhere and anytime access to the company’s charter Marketplace. The new app has been undergoing beta testing with some customers for two months and is going live in the coming days.

Although the majority of charter bookings are still conducted manually, the process is increasingly being performed online. Since its launch in January, Avinode’s SchedAero has been sold to around 50 operators in Europe, who use the tool to provide quick and accurate responses to requests.

Rapid response is seen as a key factor in winning and retaining business, as is accurate pricing. While there remains cost negotiation for many transactions, operators are realizing that a more accurate price quotation in the first place can gain them business with customers who might find that a lengthy negotiation is not cost-effective.

Avinode has seen a 22-percent increase in charter requests over the last year and now handles a monthly average of around 250,000. That can rise to more than 350,000 during high-volume periods, such as the European peak in June and July. While some of that growth in requests is due to the company increasing its footprint in the U.S., there is also a genuine underlying expansion in the global charter business.

According to Oliver King, Avinode Marketplace’s managing director, there are signs that some recently depressed markets, such as China, are picking up again. One region that took a large hit was Russia, with traffic dropping off rapidly from the early summer of 2014. Following a rapid slump, the situation has now stabilized, although Russia-to-Europe flights remain at a low level.

While broad-brush appraisals of European traffic show only slow growth, King pointed out that in some countries, such as Germany and the UK, air charter traffic is climbing at a higher rate. Spain, too, is showing an increase for the first time in many months. In terms of aircraft categories, the large-aircraft charter market is “strong and stable” in Europe, while the medium category is contracting.

Some of the biggest growth is being experienced in the African market, especially with trips between the continent and London and Paris. While the volume remains very small by comparison with other regions, the traffic nearly doubled last month as a sign that African customers are becoming more aware of the benefits of chartering aircraft and that more aircraft are becoming available for hire.