Virgin Charter Makes Historic Announcemet at NBTA
Del Williams
July 30, 2008
Hitting the podium at the National Business Travel Association with the ease of a man who just played his best game of tennis and won, you could not dismiss the smile on the face of Scott Duffy, founder of Virgin Charter. He was all smiles because he had something up his sleeve. The mastermind of Virgin Charter had found a way to make private jetting easier, and he had the Demo to prove it.
What had started as a software venture to bring together private jet owners and buyers had turned into a venture with Sir Richard Branson, the billionaire with flair. The two men met through a mutual friend. In the course of conversation, it turns out that Branson was considering starting his own private jet company. Upon hearing of the software that Duffy and his team had come up with, he scratched his plans and created Virgin Charter.
Virgin Charter is an online component that allows people to go to get quotes and make purchases of jet services. They use the "Click-fly-buy" method. What is different about this and what made history is that Scott Duffy announced that the system had moved up to real-time. GDS is the first ever solution for the integration of supplies, buyers, and payment. In times past it would take "4-6 hours to get a quote from a single carrier," according to Duffy. "The GDS solution was made possible by recent software integrations with two leading aviation scheduling systems. These key partnerships will allow operators to provide and post quotes through their existing software into the Virgin Charter Marketplace."
Virgin Charter brings together over 2,000 private jet owners in one convenient place so that buyers can get quotes and purchase their flights in less than 10 minutes. Duffy has done what the system had not been able to do in the history of aviation. Considering this is a large industry for business travelers, it would seem that Duffy had his hand on the pulse of private jet clients.
A buyer goes to the Virgin Charter site and puts in his information. He can tell the system where and when he wants to go. Then he can choose the type of plane, if he wants a certain one. When he clicks submit a minimum of four quotes comes up. The buyer can then look at all the offers, see pictures of the planes inside and out, and check on the safety and quality of the carrier. While the buyer is doing this, a supplier can view the quotes and resubmit his bid, or another supplier can make an original bid.
The advantage of the Virgin Charter method is that you are not buying a fractional membership or a card membership which demands at least $100,000 in advance. The buyer is only buying that trip. There is no commitment to a five year contract and all the expenses that entail such as monthly maintenance fees, jet fuel, and the inability to change plane types according to travel needs.
Another advantage is the lead time. People with memberships and fractional ownerships generally have to give 48 hours notice. With Virgin Charter it is reduced to 4-6 hours. In an emergency time is usually of the essence.
This Santa Monica, CA based company was named as one the top 15 companies that will change the world according on CNN. Scott Duffy has reason to be of good cheer, his program has made a way for private jetting to be convenient and painless.
What had started as a software venture to bring together private jet owners and buyers had turned into a venture with Sir Richard Branson, the billionaire with flair. The two men met through a mutual friend. In the course of conversation, it turns out that Branson was considering starting his own private jet company. Upon hearing of the software that Duffy and his team had come up with, he scratched his plans and created Virgin Charter.
Virgin Charter is an online component that allows people to go to get quotes and make purchases of jet services. They use the "Click-fly-buy" method. What is different about this and what made history is that Scott Duffy announced that the system had moved up to real-time. GDS is the first ever solution for the integration of supplies, buyers, and payment. In times past it would take "4-6 hours to get a quote from a single carrier," according to Duffy. "The GDS solution was made possible by recent software integrations with two leading aviation scheduling systems. These key partnerships will allow operators to provide and post quotes through their existing software into the Virgin Charter Marketplace."
Virgin Charter brings together over 2,000 private jet owners in one convenient place so that buyers can get quotes and purchase their flights in less than 10 minutes. Duffy has done what the system had not been able to do in the history of aviation. Considering this is a large industry for business travelers, it would seem that Duffy had his hand on the pulse of private jet clients.
A buyer goes to the Virgin Charter site and puts in his information. He can tell the system where and when he wants to go. Then he can choose the type of plane, if he wants a certain one. When he clicks submit a minimum of four quotes comes up. The buyer can then look at all the offers, see pictures of the planes inside and out, and check on the safety and quality of the carrier. While the buyer is doing this, a supplier can view the quotes and resubmit his bid, or another supplier can make an original bid.
The advantage of the Virgin Charter method is that you are not buying a fractional membership or a card membership which demands at least $100,000 in advance. The buyer is only buying that trip. There is no commitment to a five year contract and all the expenses that entail such as monthly maintenance fees, jet fuel, and the inability to change plane types according to travel needs.
Another advantage is the lead time. People with memberships and fractional ownerships generally have to give 48 hours notice. With Virgin Charter it is reduced to 4-6 hours. In an emergency time is usually of the essence.
This Santa Monica, CA based company was named as one the top 15 companies that will change the world according on CNN. Scott Duffy has reason to be of good cheer, his program has made a way for private jetting to be convenient and painless.
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