A Made-To-Measure Approach To Private Jet Charters

In a segment where celebrity chefs and technology often get the headlines, Unity Jets could be the future of the on-demand private jet charter market. In contrast to online brokers and platforms sending thousands of quote requests to operators, with very few culminating in a booking, over 50% of requests from the Miami, Florida-based private jet charter broker end in a sale.

Of course, you won’t find one of those flight price estimators on its website or claims to be like Expedia or Amazon. Instead, Unity Jets seeks to meet its UHNW clients where it feels it can provide the most value. That’s personal interaction.

In some ways, it mirrors the approach of high-end travel advisors who have seen their fortunes grow despite the rise of online travel agencies.

Founded in 2010 by former Marquis Jet Partners and NetJets sales executive Kevin Diemar, Unity has eschewed fancy offices, operating from a nondescript two-story office complex hidden on an access road.

Diemar says his approach to selling on-demand private jet charters reflects that it is more complicated than technology-led brokers portray it.

It’s a bit like the battle between travel advisors and online travel agencies. You can book a hotel room or even a suite online, but if you are going to Paris and you are spending a couple of thousand dollars a night, you want your suite to have a view of the Eiffel Tower, not the alley. That’s why the good travel agents do well, and in the private aviation space, it’s different but similar, says Diemar.

“Our clients are UHNWs. They may look up medical questions online, but they go to a specialist. They have professional financial advisors, tax specialists. They don’t go online to get legal advice. They hire top lawyers. We offer that same type of professional expertise they are looking for when it comes to private aviation,” Diemar says.

Like other top charter brokers, the founder operates by cellphone, a constant stream of phone calls and texts with clients and operators.

On the customer side, his team of a half dozen brokers ensure they understand why customers are flying on each trip. For example, a client who is flying in the morning to an important medical appointment would likely want the option to pay extra to have the airplane positioned at their departure airport the night before. A ski trip to Colorado with lots of equipment could require a different aircraft type than the jaunt last summer. How big is the dog’s cage? It may not fit on certain types of jets.

While jet cards and memberships remain popular because of their convenience, they are like buying your suits off-the-shelf, where a light jet is a light jet. Unity Jets treats each trip like a high street tailor. Details matter. How old is the airplane? When was it last refurbished? Does it need owner approval? Are there recent photos of the cabin? Does the operator have a backup aircraft if there is a mechanical?

From the customer’s point of view, is there a preferred configuration? Light and midsize jets that offer eight seats generally mean two of the seats are on a small divan backed against the curve of the cabin, not necessarily comfortable for larger adults or longer flights. Do customers who are already paying a lot of money want to pay a bit more, so they have a cabin big enough to stand up in?

Like top travel advisors, who have deep relationships with the managers at the hotels they book, the Unity team is well-known to operators. When they don’t see specific aircraft listed as available, instead of waiting for a response to one of the thousands of emails that inundate operators from brokers seeking quotes, they have the cellphone numbers of an executive, cutting to the front of the line. Unlike platforms that simply request quotes from any operator, Unity has a selection of charter operators it regularly works with. That gives it the clout to advocate for its clients when something goes wrong.

At a conference in Nashville earlier this year of private jet charter operator schedulers and dispatchers, the Unity Jets team was walking the floor, meeting with operators, building relationships, and putting a person with a voice on the phone.

The personal touch also means doing their best to get ahead of bad news.

The operations team tracks airplanes on their repositioning flights and checks with the FBO to ensure catering was delivered – and the pilots picked it up. Sometimes it takes a reminder call to the operator. They are also in touch with car services making sure ground transportation is there upon arrival. They double-check which FBO is being used, something that can change on short notice and cause consternation with clients if they are dropped off at the wrong terminal.

When something goes wrong Unity seeks to have options on the table. However, Diemar says the most important tenet is, “We want customers to hear the news first from us, and in that moment, what we are doing to keep them on track.”

Normally, he says, “Customers don’t know the flurry of activity that goes on behind the scenes.”

Diemar says a significant number of his clients have fractional shares and jet cards but use Unity when they overfly their allotments or need a different type of aircraft and don’t want to pay interchange fees. Of course, there are also plenty of loyal clients who appreciate his team’s knowledge and know they are looking at the details for every trip.

While Diemar declines to provide numbers on revenue, he says Unity Jets would be classified as a midsize brokerage. However, he is not thinking about rapid growth.

“There’s a limit to scaling what we do and delivering personalized service our clientele wants. We don’t feel like we need to compete on how fast we are growing,” Diemar says.

In fact, he says growth during the Covid surge of private flying didn’t come from advertising, but referrals. “It turned out our clients have extensive rolodexes and when their friends asked them to recommend a broker, they recommended us,” he says.