Challenge accepted

After initial lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic grounded almost all air travel, an unforeseen trend began to appear in private aviation once the world began to open up. Many who would have previously travelled with commercial airlines started to flood the marketplace with requests due to health and hygiene concerns. This resulted in a dearth of private jet availability in the USA, which consistently ranks top of the list of countries with the most private aviation passengers. It also meant that customers who had jet cards with private operators were impacted, with scarcity and rising costs leading them to consider alternative providers, such as ACS.

The Manhattan office is the home of the Empyrean Jet Card, headed up by John Castellano, ACS Vice President of Commercial Sales for the Americas. He explains: “There are more first-time customers in the marketplace than ever before. There is a finite number of aircraft available, as well as a finite number of pilots. The entire industry has had to adjust to something they could not have expected or predicted.”

The limitations of private jet operators – such as owning a finite fleet and having restricted knowledge of the wider availability in the market – have been well and truly exposed by the pandemic. ACS has no such limitations. As a charter consultant, rather than an operator, ACS knows which operators have aircraft available, when and where, and can use this knowledge to provide flawless service – a huge benefit in a strained market. 

“I view this as an opportunity more than a problem,” John adds. “Has the market thrown the industry a curveball? Yes. But, while our jobs may have become more difficult, it is forcing us to be more efficient, diligent, and smarter in how we approach the marketplace. It is perhaps the most exciting time in the history of aviation, and ACS is ready for the challenge.”

ACS is also well-equipped for the challenge, a charter consultant not restricted to a finite fleet and able to expand as the market demands, casting a broader net to find aircraft to fulfil customer wishes. Nevertheless, the uplift in demand still required some adjustments. John and his team were forced to approach the market in a much smarter way, solidifying operator and vendor relationships, and sustaining a thorough and effective new-hire training programme. 

“These two factors have us well-positioned in the market. The reputation we have built over 30 years, and being the world’s biggest aviation charter consultant, has afforded us very exciting opportunities to work with our partners in the space and tackle these challenges together.”

Due to aircraft shortages, many private jet companies in the US were forced to pause the preferential rates and services offered to their jet card customers. Despite paying for a
superior service offered by a jet card, some customers were not receiving any benefits or rewards for their loyalty.

“Once you are a private flyer, it is very difficult to go back to commercial and I suspect many of these customers have grown frustrated with how they’ve been treated in some of these programmes,” muses John. “We have solutions for those jet card customers looking for a new programme. We can offer ad hoc flights if you only want a single trip per year and we offer the Empyrean Jet Card that can be tailored to exactly how you fly. We remain very excited about growing our programme and delivering service beyond expectations.”

As part of this growth, ACS has added several professionals to the team with a breadth of experience in the jet card space, with ambitions to further expand the team. 

“I envision the Empyrean Jet Card being as productive as the brokerage side of our business over the next five years, which is an aggressive goal,” explains John. “But I predict another 12-18 months of aircraft availability issues, which is precisely why a customer would want to work with ACS. We advocate vigorously for their interests, and we have the expertise and the relationships to deliver, like we always have.”

About the Empyrean Jet Card 

ACS offers three accounts: Market, Hourly and Capped. Market enables clients to charter aircraft at the best market rates at the time of booking. Hourly allows clients to buy a set number of hours for a set price, with a 24-hour notice period. Capped is the best of both worlds – flights at the best market rate, but with a maximum price guarantee. For more information, please visit flyempyrean.com.

Image credit: Getty