Waltzing Matilda Aviation (WMA), a Boston-based FAA Part 135 jet charter operator, has seen a substantial pick up in business in the past week after experiencing, much like all in the industry, a quiet April and first half of May.

CEO John Thomas says: "We are now fielding up to 50 jet charter enquiries a day up from five to 10 only two weeks ago. Further, with a massive imbalance in clients wanting to fly from Florida to the North East, we are seeing unbelievably low pricing for one way southbound flights for as low as $6,500. But we don't expect this imbalance will last for more than a couple of weeks after which southbound pricing will rise to its more normal levels.”

Based on WMA's level of activity at its home base at Bedford (BED), Massachusetts, ithe company believes its business is coming back faster than some of the bigger national players who were forced to furlough crews during the downturn. WMA was able to maintain its full staffing levels throughout the downturn and is therefore better able to respond faster to the recovery than many operators, some of whom have had aircraft idle for the past two months. WMA has used some of this idle time to invest in new systems and further enhance its website with a new online booking portal.

Thomas adds: “With the Federal Excise Tax holiday running through to the end of December as well as low fuel prices, now is one of the cheapest times to fly privately. Further we have picked up a number of new corporate customers who have already made the decision not to allow their staff to fly commercially for the foreseeable future and therefore see private aviation as the only viable option.”