One man’s mission to dent illegal charter operations

Illegal charter is a problem of “epic proportion”, according to Jacob Baumler, founder of CoachAir.

At one end of the spectrum, illegal charter can involve improper filings or operational misclassification. At the other, it has led to multiple fatalities and years of litigation, as seen in the tragic loss of footballer Emiliano Sala and pilot David Ibbotson in January 2019. Regardless of the severity, there is a common denominator: it is all illegal.

Based on research compiled over the past six years, Baumler believes a significant portion of charter activity operates in non-compliant or grey areas. The true scale of the issue remains difficult to quantify, largely because fragmented data and manual processes make it hard to measure. That insight is what led him to found CoachAir, a startup developing an infrastructure-as-a-service platform designed to help validate flights in near real time by cross-checking publicly available aviation records, operator-provided information, commercially licensed datasets and insurer-aligned compliance inputs.

“Many industries worldwide have automated safety and compliance,” he said. “Private aviation, particularly Part 135, still relies heavily on spreadsheets, phone calls and fragmented systems. That creates ambiguity, and ambiguity creates risk. The industry does not have a unified way to confirm legality at the transaction level.”

Baumler outlined his findings in a white paper that drew interest from industry bodies including NBAA and IBAC. “They told me it is a major issue and could be larger than many in the industry realise,” he said.

“With recent disruptions, progress has taken time, but there is strong interest across the industry in technologies that can modernise how compliance information is surfaced and understood. Our goal is to support operators by improving clarity and confidence at the point of booking, while ensuring responsibility remains with the operator,” he added.

For Baumler, combatting illegal charter requires alignment between technology providers, operators and industry organisations, rather than parallel or adversarial efforts.

Where it all began

Eight years ago, Baumler needed to book a private charter at short notice when scheduled services could not meet his requirements. It is an introduction to private flying that many will be familiar with.

“I went to the airport asking how to get on a private charter,” he recalls. “When I searched online, I mainly found large membership programmes, but no straightforward way to book a compliant flight. I filled out forms, received sales calls and eventually connected with a broker.”

After some back and forth, Baumler eventually got through to a broker who arranged a flight. As it turned out, the charter was not operated under the appropriate authority. “I paid for it and unknowingly accepted significant risk,” he said. “It was a sobering experience.”

He added: “I started talking to people at FBOs and realised there was a much broader problem. I researched it and it became a passion project.

“With new technologies such as AI, fintech, and modern user experience design, I built an aviation intelligence platform that aims to make general aviation a safer and more transparent place to book flights.”

Compliance, missing

Until recently, there has been no automated mechanism to help validate the legality of a charter flight at the point of booking, Baumler explained.

“That leaves room for misclassification between Part 91 and Part 135 operations,” he said. “Everything is still managed through emails, spreadsheets and manual checks. There is no consistent way for operators, brokers, or passengers to confirm that a trip is being structured correctly when money changes hands.”

CoachAir’s challenge has been integrating disparate data sources into a unified system. “The industry has historically relied on manual workflows,” said Baumler. “Our role is not to replace regulators or audits, but to modernise how compliance information is organised and presented for operational use.”

How does it work?

Sitting at the intersection of AI and fintech for aviation, CoachAir is building a platform that automates validation logic to support informed booking decisions. Once active, if an operator does not complete required validation steps, its aircraft will not be made available through the platform until the information is resolved.

“I have seen firsthand how hidden risks in charter operations create problems for passengers and operators alike,” said Baumler. “AI allows us to bring clarity and consistency into a process that has historically been fragmented.”

What has changed is not the nature of the problem, but the technology. Modern APIs, AI-driven data processing and secure payment rails now make transaction-level validation practical at scale.

In short, the solution looks like this:

• Integrating public data for real-time validation: CoachAir aggregates publicly available aviation records, live flight data and operator-provided documentation into a unified validation layer. This allows charter availability to be assessed against relevant operational criteria before a flight is listed or paid for.
• AI automation to speed understanding: AI-driven logic interprets complex compliance and operational information automatically, highlighting inconsistencies that would otherwise require manual review. This reduces reliance on spreadsheets and phone calls while improving consistency and efficiency.
• Escrow-backed transactions released only after validation and flight confirmation: Funds are held securely until agreed validation steps and flight confirmation are completed. This protects operators from chargebacks, gives passengers confidence, and provides a clear transaction record.

AI tools for passengers, brokers and operators

CoachAir provides role-specific tools that surface relevant information in an accessible way. Baumler said passengers gain confidence without needing regulatory expertise, brokers operate from a trusted data set and operators benefit from structured, repeatable workflows.

“That shifts the process from reactive problem solving to proactive intelligence. This is what we call aviation intelligence, or even safety intelligence,” said Baumler.

The service operates as a white-label platform, allowing operators to maintain their branding and customer relationships while CoachAir runs validation, payments and supporting logic in the background. The initial focus is on Part 135 operators and platforms seeking to streamline compliance and payments without rebuilding internal systems. 

“There are established safety auditing systems such as Wyvern and Argus, and they play an important role,” he added. “We plan to surface those credentials within our platform. What has been missing is transaction-level automation that helps ensure flights are structured correctly before they are booked.” 

Once operational, CoachAir will continue aggregating and validating aircraft data. Any aircraft entering the platform must complete validation steps before appearing. If required information is missing or inconsistent, it remains unavailable until resolved.

Complementing current oversight

Baumler is keen to stress that CoachAir is not reinventing the wheel when it comes to regulatory oversight.

“Our focus is operational clarity, not enforcement,” he said. “By integrating open APIs and standardised data checks, operators benefit from better organisation and consistency within their own workflows.”

Regardless of internal scheduling or dispatch software, CoachAir integrates as a verification and payment layer, providing a consistent operational framework across the industry.

Mission impossible?

Although realistic about the scale of the challenge, Baumler is confident the platform can make a meaningful impact for safe flights and better utilisation of assets.

Illegal charter persists largely because a fragmented industry allows ambiguity to exist, he said. Advances in software and computing now make it possible to reduce that ambiguity.

“If applications powered by CoachAir offer clearer, more transparent charter transactions, that benefits operators, brokers, insurers and passengers alike,” Baumler concludes. “Automation, data and trust are foundational. People talk about the problem. We are building the infrastructure to help address it.”

CoachAir’s internal projections target building a database of more than 1,500 aircraft over the next five years. For more information or to contact CoachAir directly, visit www.gocoachair.com