Operator alliance AirClub has signed a trip support contract with Jetex and has welcomed Finnish operator Jetflite onboard this year, and is now working alongside an IT company to develop an in-house dedicated booking platform.

“We have been working hard in the background since EBACE,” explains COO Dennis Goeppel. “Jetflite is based in Helsinki. Its client base is largely within or from the Russian market, so that was a very strategic add-on to our members.

“As we speak we are adding another member, though I cannot disclose the name yet. This will be confirmed either by the end of this year or in January.

We will be adding another operator from the UK region, to have coverage around the London market, which is a very important one. We have been signing lots of contracts with ground handling agents, catering companies and various suppliers on a global scale that we are using frequently.”

The alliance is looking to have its booking platform operated by a third party. “B2C booking platforms are working; it has been proven,” says Goeppel. “We decided to team up with an IT company for 2017; there is no point spending a lot of money trying to reinvent the wheel, and doing all of it ourselves. We are outsourcing it.

“We are now much more flexible and attractive to potential new members. The ultimate goal for 2017 for AirClub is that we expand in the US, where we already have one operator, Prime Jet. That is why we decided to readjust the strategy a little bit and prepare for going along those lines, and trying to get the first operator towards Asia or the Middle East.

“We are really going to try and start building a global network of superior aircraft operators with a solid reputation and sound financial position,” Goeppel concludes.