CJI London: The economics of aircraft brokerage
Being a broker can be tough. Building relationships, following up on leads can be daunting work. All this while the threat of technology continue to loom in the background.
At Corporate Jet Investor London 2026, Mark Butler of Action Aviation, Memo Montemayor of EMCJET, Pascal Bachmann of Jetcraft and James Horner of Aero Ventures sat down to discuss what does it take to succeed as an aircraft broker. The panellists further discussed what does the job look like as AI reshapes the industry? The session was moderated by Alasdair Whyte.
“Reputation is the most important thing. Don’t judge it by the numbers,” Memo Montemayor opened the situation when asked about how a broker can differentiate themselves.
Pascal Bachmann, whose firm Jetcraft completed 148 transactions in 2025, offered a wry counterpoint: “The nail that sticks out attracts the hammer – you don’t necessarily want to stand out. You take care of your existing relationships and they refer you further.”
The discussion moved towards the broker-versus-adviser debate. All panellists agreed that best brokers operate as consultants first. “The best selling is a consultative approach,” Bachmann said. “People remember good advice and they come back.”
Mark Butler of Action Aviation flagged the sharp divide between professional brokers and what he called “Gmail brokers”. By clarified that Gmail brokers skip client qualification entirely and simply push product. “If you’re trying to sell an aircraft to a customer that’s completely wrong for them, you should be hung, drawn and quartered,” said Butler.
Artificial intelligence and its disruptive power in the brokerage business also came under spotlight. The panel’s views on the topic were split.
EMCJET said it is adopting AI by building a client-facing valuation portal with individual serial-number pricing, while Aero Ventures is developing a platform with a live offer capability.
Jetcraft’s Bachmann took a different route entirely. “The interface between AI and the customer should be our sales team,” he said. “AI stays in the background. We get more intelligent, but it’s our people who face the client.”
When asked to sum up 2025 in one word, the panel offered: interesting, great, busy and unexpected.
