Virgin Charter Launches Online Marketplace

New York, USA: Sir Richard Branson on Tuesday announced the launch of Virgin Charter, a new online marketplace catering to "buyers and sellers of private aviation services." The web site allows customers to compare price quotes, book flights online and communicate with operators, including small charter operators who make up "the bulk of the industry."

The "full-service marketplace" will also allow sellers to offer their inventory to a larger customer base without having to change the way they normally conduct their business.

Virgin Charter does not own or operate any aircraft or serve as a broker.

Sellers will now be able to make their inventory available on the web site and buyers will use the facility to manage their entire trip online, from finding available aircraft, to negotiating pricing and purchasing private air travel.

The team behind Virgin Charter is led by founder and CEO Scott Duffy and includes technology and aviation executives "from Google, Expedia, eBay and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory."

Virgin also intends to create a "Virgin quality standard" to rate operators based on safety information ratings from auditing firms such as Wyvern.

Charter providers will pay a fee based on a percentage of the sale, while buyers of charter services pay no fee to use the Web site. A private, invitation-only beta version of the Web site will be available online June 12, followed by full-scale product launch at the end of the year.