Charles Alcock is managing editor of the AIN Media Group, having rejoined the company in 2019. He has been an aviation journalist since 1986, and previously worked for AIN from 1990 to 2017, most recently as editor-in-chief. His main focus is on covering new aviation technology and business models, as well as international news.
Having been raised in the London area, Alcock studied at the University of Manchester in the UK and earned an honors degree in Politics and Modern History. He speaks English and French, and some German.

Managing Editor

Charles Alcock

Two online charter-booking platforms are vying for dominance in the market to allow consumers to make their own flight reservations and pay for them online. This week, Stellar Labs is launching its iOS app and web-booking portal in the U.S., following the September launch of Stratajet, which has been live in the European market since April. 
Both platforms offer a selection of available flight options from Argus- or Wyvern-audited operators within around 12 seconds. In addition, both promise a way for consumers to enjoy direct access to private charters, without the need to involve brokers or join membership-based programs.
Silicon Valley-based Stellar (Booth 3293) is building its new marketplace platform on a foundation of an alliance with Rockwell Collins that will involve the full integration of the Arinc Direct FOS flight operations system with its own revenue management and optimization systems (see page 30). The platform has launched with charter inventory listed by 35 operators, and expects to increase this number to around 100. Stellar earns one percent commission on the price of flights booked through the system.
In addition to drawing on operational data from through FOS, Stellar allows operators to set their own pricing rules that might include elements such as discounts for specific customers or flights. They can also build in availability of empty leg trips.
According to Stellar, flight bookings are subject to confirmation by individual operators in about 60 to 70 percent of cases, and for around 30 percent of trips will involve approval from an aircraft owner. “We’re working to get as many operators as possible using this as an instant-booking platform,” said Stellar chairman and CEO Paul Touw. 
For now, the Stellar platform appears not to be based on the principle of providing all flights on the basis of confirmed bookings in real time. “Consumers can choose between fixed-price, cabin-specific quotes with guaranteed availability, or hundreds of operator-branded quotes, directly from the operators’ available inventory,” the company said.
Meanwhile, Stratajet’s pricing engine incorporates 15 sets of different fees and charges, including the direct operating cost for a specific aircraft, which is set by each operator. The other elements include factors such as landing, air navigation and emissions fees, as well as parking and handling charges at specific airports and FBOs. These cost factors, which take account of almost half a million pricing points of data, are based on detailed research by Stratajet (Booth 619), which guarantees their accuracy by covering any discrepancy so that operators do not have to calculate costs manually. 
Stratajet also said it has integrated its platform with FOS, as well as several other flight operations programs, such as Bart, Leon and Airops. It launched in the U.S. with the initial support of around 125 operators, and has been busily adding more from a pool of around 235 companies.
One key feature of Stratajet is its adaptive empty leg solution, which tracks down potential repositioning flights that could be tapped as revenue flights. The company, which is based in the UK with U.S. offices in Santa Monica, Calif., guarantees to provide a suitable alternative aircraft in the event that an empty leg solution fails to materialize. It also allows operators to price the availability of repositioning flights on a variable basis, depending on how far ahead the requested booking is from the date the search is made.
“Stratajet is the only company in the world that can give you a price for a jet without any human intervention,” said founder and CEO Jonny Nicol, insisting that only his pricing engine, which took almost six years to develop, has the capability to generate accurate charter quotes in a completely automated way. “We’re also the only company in the world that can take the 40 percent of private jet flights that currently have no passengers and put them to use in real time.” 
For its part, Stellar insists that its agreement with Rockwell Collins to expand the scope of the FOS software will prove to be a force multiplier for operators and charter clients alike. “With Stellar there is no disconnect between the booking system and the trip-management process,” said business development manager Brent Moldowan.

New Air Charter Booking Platforms Go Head-to-head

Stellar Labs is launching its charter booking portal at NBAA 2016, just a few weeks after Stratajet entered the U.S. market

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