CJI Global 2020: Should all operators adhere to the same safety standards?

“Yes, short answer,” said Bernie Burns, founder of US charter broker, B2 Aviation, addressing the panel, US Charter Market 2020-2021, at CJI Global 2020. Life would be made much easier for charter brokers, according to Burns, if all operators operated under the same safety standards and protocol.

Burns said: “That opens up a Pandora’s Box my friend, but the short answer is yes. Obviously we know resources are limited in some places and people have different philosophies in terms of how they want to operate and own an aircraft. So, yes I would love for all operators to have the same standards but you’re always going to have people in our industry … trying to get the next trip and they are willing to take a lower cost to do that.”

According to Burns there is necessity to create a standard and this is why his company looks to operators like JetEdge, post-Covid, because it provides assurance everything possible has been done to make flying safe.

Burns said: “We don’t go to the web to find out who is going to fly our clients, we build those relationships. So, a big plus to JetEdge – we try to work with companies like JetEdge, who we know have done all the things right to make sure everybody is safe. From their crew, to all the things they are going to do onboard the airplane. Especially in this time right now, it doesn’t make sense to go with something you don’t know is certain.”

Fellow panelist, Jonah Adler, chief revenue and marketing officer, Jet Edge, noted that the current environment has created a very interesting period for charter. “There is a really huge gap in between the people in charter who sell and deliver price, both on the sales side as a broker and on the operator side, and the people who sell and deliver value. I think coronavirus has really shined a spotlight on that part of the business.”