Sir Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group announced on Tuesday the launch of Virgin Charter, a new online marketplace catering to "buyers and sellers of private aviation services".
The web site allows customers to compare price quotes, book flights and communicate with operators, including small charter operators that make up "the bulk of the industry".
Aircraft operators will make their inventory available on the web site and buyers will use the facility to manage their entire trip online, from finding available aircraft, to negotiating pricing and purchasing private air travel, says Virgin Charter founder and chief executive Scott Duffy.
The Santa Monica, California-based company also intends to create a "Virgin quality standard" to rate operators based on safety information ratings from auditing companies including Wyvern.
Charter providers will pay a fee based on a percentage of the sale, while buyers of charter services pay no fee to use the service. The site is accessible on an invitation only basis for now, but a full-scale product launch is scheduled for the fourth quarter.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
