Charter brokerage is a tough business. At the current stage, is charter racing to the bottom? Or does the industry still command a premium?
At Corporate Jet Investor Lonon 2026, the panellists discussed the state of business charter to highlight forces reshaping the charter brokerage market. The session was moderated by Oliver King of Avinode Group with Julie Black of Hunt & Palmer, Kevin Macnaughton of Air Partner and Philippe Fragnière of Exklusiv Aviation on the panel.
The session started with a loaded question. Will brokers exist in 20 years especially with artificial intelligence? All three on the panel said yes. However, they mentioned it would be with some caveats. Black said that the human element will remain key selling point in brokerage.
“Artificial intelligence can never replace acquired intelligence – the wisdom of two-and-a-half decades of chartering planes on very diverse missions. The map and the string still has value when the system goes down,” Julie said.
However, she added that technology has lowered the barrier to entry for newer, smaller players. This enables them to undercut on margin while larger players will have higher overheads.
Kevin Macnaughton, however, said this is not an industry issued but rather a client maturity issue. “Less mature clients drive to the bottom on price. But mature clients are prepared to pay more because they realise how valuable their time is and can’t afford to be out of action,” he added.
On the use of artificial intelligence, the panel was united in its scepticism about doing full automation. They all said that the internal AI agents currently in use at their companies were being operating with human oversight.
Fragnière said the future where AI systems speaking directly with each other will definitely come soon but argued brokers who add genuine value will benefit rather than be displaced.
“Personalisation at scale, with speed. That’s the sweet spot,” said Macnaughton when asked what will separated winners from losers.