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Chain charter for tour operators

A series is a different commercial proposition from a single flight.

The margin lives or dies on the rate you agreed in January and the reliability you get in August.

Capacity is committed for a season and the schedule repeats, so a decision taken once is a decision you live with for months.

What we do

From capacity to a schedule you can sell.

  1. 01 Source the capacity For the whole programme rather than flight by flight, from operators that want a series and can carry one.
  2. 02 Negotiate the series rate On the terms that matter over a season, not only on the headline hourly figure.
  3. 03 Build the schedule Around your departure days and turnaround times, so the rotation holds when a day runs long.
  4. 04 Verify the commitment That the operator can hold it for the whole season rather than the first four weeks.
Specific to a series

What we look at that a single flight never raises.

Fleet depth behind the commitmentWhich is to say what actually happens on the day one aircraft is unserviceable.
Financial standing across a seasonA counterparty you are tied to in August has to be sound in January.
Terms for changes and load adjustmentsAgreed in the contract rather than negotiated under pressure mid season.
A realistic recovery planFor a technical delay on a rotation that has no slack in it.

Who we work with

Travel companies and tour operators of every size, tourism regions and destination marketing organisations, and companies running recurring shuttle programmes for their own staff.

The same rotation, week after week, for a whole season.

Which is exactly why the operator is chosen once and checked properly.

Why brokers earn their keep here

A series concentrates risk in a single counterparty for months at a time. Choosing that counterparty well is worth considerably more than the last few hundred euros on the hourly rate.

Which is why we will tell you when the cheapest offer on the table is the one we would not sign.

Roger Hohl handled chain and ad hoc charter programmes at the Austrian carrier InterSky, which is where the questions on this page come from.

Beyond the headline rate

What we negotiate besides the hourly figure.

A series concentrates months of risk in one counterparty. Every line above is worth more over a season than the last few hundred euros on the rate.

Series agreement
The series rate The headline number, and the only part most comparisons look at.
Minimum block commitment What you are liable for if loads come in under plan, which is where a cheap rate is usually recovered.
Change and cancellation terms Per rotation, agreed in writing, so a schedule change in July is a clause and not a negotiation.
Recovery obligation What the operator owes you on the day an aircraft is unserviceable, and inside what time.
Payment and security terms Which is the other half of the counterparty question, alongside their financial standing.
Questions we are asked

Before you commit a season.

How early does a series need to be placed?

The earlier the commitment, the better the rate, because the operator is buying certainty from you as much as you are buying capacity from them. Programmes for a summer season are normally agreed over the preceding winter.

What do you need from us to quote?

Departure days, the season length, the route or routes, expected loads, and the turnaround time you need at the far end. That is enough for a first indication.

What happens when an aircraft goes technical mid season?

That is exactly what we check before you sign, and why fleet depth behind the commitment matters more than the rate. The recovery obligation and the time it has to happen in are part of the contract we negotiate, not a goodwill question on the day.

Can we change the schedule during the season?

Within the terms agreed at the start. We make sure those terms exist and are specific, because a change requested against a contract that is silent on changes is a change negotiated from a weak position.

Will you ever advise against the cheapest offer?

Yes, and we will say why in writing. An operator we would not sign with does not go into your comparison at all, and we tell you that it happened.

Discuss a programme.

Departure days, season length and expected loads are enough to start.

Request a quote