How does the booking service work?

[yst_01]

There is expedia, kayak etc.. the airlines themselves, but how does the booking service work?

How do airlines etc know, how many seats are available?

For example empty legs from privat companies:

Empty Legs | Private Jets - Save Up to 75% | Air Partner UK (http://www.airpartner.com/en/empty-legs/)

Why don't 'airpartner' appear on kayak or expedia?

[Monkey Boy]

Well, the booking service works exactly how they explain it should:

"‘Empty legs’ are flights that are due to operate without any passengers as the aircraft repositions back to its base, or is going elsewhere to be ready for its next assignment. If you can move quickly, an empty leg can be really handy.

If you were planning to head that way, you could hop aboard the empty leg and save up to 70% on the cost of a conventional private jet charter."

However, if you look at the prices, it's not exactly RyanAir or EasyJet, so puts empty leg chartering some way out of the reaches of the masses, therefore not exactly fodder for Expedia or the like. It's not just seats you're paying for, it's exclusive use of the whole aircraft.

Most company's like Air Partner get the heads up about empty legs via the operators themselves, or they try to "back sell" charters that they've already arranged. They can be a good deal if you're in the right place at the right time with a big enough wallet.

[El Bunto]

Empty legs are a lucrative double-dip for the operator. The original chartering customer has already paid for the positioning flights and crew costs ( inc. accommodation and fees ) as part of the contract.

So when an operator advertises "up to 70% cheaper!" for an empty leg they actually mean "we could sell this leg for $1 and it'd still be pure profit".

There's no reason they couldn't price it the same as or cheaper than an airline flight between two similar points, and feed into a GDS for sale, except that would dilute the image of the product.

[barit1]

I had an interesting experience with DNATA in Dubai. I got my ticket DXB-AMM from DNATA in 1992, all's well UNTIL I boarded the Royal Jordanian TriStar. The chief flight attendant looked at my ticket (yes, paper ticket yet), frowned, and informed me that my ticketed seat DID NOT EXIST on this aircraft! And they were fully booked!

Bottom line - because I was in the airline industry, and this was before the 9/11 WTC attack, the Captain invited me to ride the cockpit jump seat!

[Hartington]

Why don't "airpartner" appear on Kayak etc? Because they are a charter operation, not a scheduled airline. It's the same reason for many of the holiday flights around Euope that you'll never find on Kayak etc.

[Monkey Boy]

Why don't "airpartner" appear on Kayak etc? Because they are a charter operation, not a scheduled airline. It's the same reason for many of the holiday flights around Euope that you'll never find on Kayak etc.


Not strictly true - they are a charter broker, which means they do not own or operate any aircraft.

[yst_01]

ok. thanks for all your answers. I want to specify.


Let's say for example I own one little cessna 172 (or an Airbus A380..) and I fly bos-ewr (and back) at least once a week on a fixed date.

I want to save/make money and offer people to fly with me (transport licence, insurance etc. everything is available/paid for).

There has to be a database I guess? Where do pilots/airlines register for expedia, kayak etc.?

Is there a minimum requirement to be called an airline/route service etc.?

[Rwy in Sight]

feed into a GDS for sale

That gives me the chance to ask how to put it if you don't know when it is going to be available? I understand how the empty legs appear but how can they be marketed to someone who wants to travel from place A to place B at a specific time (because he/she have booked hotels at place B).

[Hartington]

In the USA there is (was?) a tradition of ride sharing that revolved around bits of paper posted on club notice boards at airfields. Recently, some one tried to set up something along the lines of Uber to semi formalise that culture but the FAA got involved and knocked it on the head Sorry, But the FAA Has Decided Your 'Uber for Planes' Idea Can't Fly (http://gizmodo.com/sorry-but-the-faa-has-decided-your-uber-for-planes-ide-1622734282). One result of that is that the bulletin board is now being questioned by some people.

In other countries? I don't know but I suspect it would be jumped on in the same way in countries other than the USA.

[ImPlaneCrazy]

Global Distribution System - Airline (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Distribution_System)

[yst_01]

An empty leg from a "privat" company from JFK to LHR is offered for 100 000 us dollars on their own website which nobody knows and no one will ever never book.


BUT/NOW


they come up with a plan to sell at least like 5 seats for 4000 us dollars from the us east coast to london during/via expedia. What do they have to do to appear on Expedia? ... (instead of flying home empty)