How Charters Evolved Through the Ages

Private charter grew in popularity after the conclusion of World War II due to the massive surplus of aircraft and the need for aircraft owners to offset costs. However, it was during the 1960’s, also referred to as the “golden era” of charter airplanes, when the corporate charter industry began that things really took off for private air charter. When business executives began searching for alternatives to the high cost of aircraft ownership, private jet charters became their answer. Private charters looked so tantalizing because they were luxurious, convenient, and most important, flexible; all without the high cost and responsibility of maintaining these aircraft.

During the 1960’s, the Learjet 23 was also introduced as the first ever corporate jet. During this time, the Learjet gained in popularity due to its high performance and “sleek” design by 1960’s aircraft standards. Shortly after the introduction of the Learjet, manufacturers began creating aircraft less like their military predecessors and more like the larger, more passenger-oriented jets that we see today. The only problem for these charter operators was that potential customers didn’t know how to find these charters and weren’t guaranteed to have their charter needs met; that was until the advent of the internet in the early 1990’s. 

With the introduction of the internet in the 1990’s, charter operators were able to better advertise their services directly to consumers. This time is also when brokers began to emerge on the scene, better connecting travelers with individual charter operators that better fit their needs. Starting in the early 2000’s, new ways of jet ownership began to emerge. This includes fractional ownership, which is when multiple people share a fraction of the cost of an aircraft, and membership programs, which offer prepaid hours to use an aircraft. 

These business models were still pretty costly for consumers, which created a new and more dynamic model called on-demand air charters. Unlike the previous models, on-demand air charters allow flyers to purchase direct flights to their destinations, thus being more economical than fractional ownership or membership programs. 

Today, the charter industry is changing once again.  This time it’s the infusion of  Artificial Intelligence  and automation into the workflow.  Charter and Go plans on leading this new disruption.  At Charter and Go, our goal is to use A.I technology to transform the charter industry by removing all the manual processes that go into chartering an aircraft. When thinking about A.I, it’s important to remember that A.I is meant to help, not replace humans. 

With that in mind, just like how the internet revolutionized the charter industry in the 1990’s, our A.I technology will revolutionize the way charter companies operate going forward by handling pricing, bookings, and scheduling in a way that maximizes charters to their fullest extent.

Derek Brown – Project Manager Intern