THE TIME IS PERFECT FOR THE PRIVATE JET INDUSTRY TO CAPTURE & RETAIN HNW CUSTOMERS FROM AIRLINES.

Covid-19 has paralysed continents and countries. It has affected more industries than one could have ever imagined, not least, the travel sector which has been decimated with both business and leisure travel reduced to levels that no one would have believed only 8 months ago. Recovering from this is going to be a herculean task. However, as with most major world events, there are always pockets of opportunity and positivity that come out of a bad situation. Whilst airlines are forced to ground planes, other sectors, primarily those servicing the needs of the high net worth community, have flourished. These include, Private Jet travel, Yacht chartering and Yacht sales and long-term luxury property lettings.

The private jet operators particularly have been handed a great opportunity. They have been filling the gap in serving those who still need to travel and for whom travelling privately in COVID clean environments, in smaller numbers, flying into less busy and more “out of town” FBOs / airports is the perfect solution.

The private Jet industry does however, have one significant flaw. It is fragmented, with few players that can deliver a broad enough choice at scale. The industry has some challenges in how it functions, where the owners/operators of the aircraft, are not always the people who hold the relationship with the client. This division between operators and brokers can cause some inconsistencies in how a service is delivered and can harm confidence.

Private Jet brokers have two specific issues, firstly, they exist on the basis of the personal relationships between broker and client, which although on the face of it is a great asset, if a broker leaves or is poached, those clients may be inclined to leave with them. The second, is the access to stock (aircraft). Effectively, a client is able to get the same aircraft from a number of different brokers, this often causes a race to the bottom from a pricing perspective when clients play brokers against each other.

There are some exceptions to what I describe, the best example is NetJets, where there is a more uniform offering of service, but requires customers to pre-purchase a number of hours per month/ year. This does not allow for the same impulsive, last minute purchase that you might expect available on an airline like British Airways.

I believe there are three key components that need to be in place to secure a long - term shift away from the airlines.

1. Provide on-demand charter service, at short notice for a decent price. Don’t force customers to make large long-term commitments by forcing advance purchase of hours. This is easier said than done, although some brokers do it amazingly well, VICTOR for example.

2. Consistency of service – The product needs to be consistent and repeatable.

3. Reward & Recognise – Lock in the customer relationship with the service provider, not with the sales person. A loyalty program that allows the customer to reduce the future flight costs would be a great incentive for the customer to come to you directly next time.

If you think that UHNW customer aren’t interested in loyalty then think again! We have proved time and time again that this is not true. There will always, of course, be some for whom it is less interesting, but the vast majority engage with a program that is well structured and easy to manage.

Talk to us www.loyaltylighthouse.com the HNW & VVIP loyalty program specialist.