Stratos Jets announced it has launched not just the first franchise for private air charters in the US, but in the world. This brokerage franchise program allows aspiring brokers and small brokerages to expand in the industry without the high cost and operational barriers of yesterday.

Private air charters are big business, generating $US15 billion annually.

It has, however, always been a challenge to get a piece of that business pie. With the launching of this private air charter program, comes a drastic reduction in start-up costs due to a simplified 1-year franchise fee, along with the simplification of operational support through shared services model which saves costs on back-end staff. This will also solve the business dilemma of operation costs as brokerages may now follow a pay-per-use model as they build their client base.

Billionaires vs. Corporate Business

Since the COVID pandemic, a new billionaire is created every 30 hours. That’s a lot of people with a lot of money to spend and a desire to travel as they please. From Bill Gates to Elon Musk to Steven Spielberg and Kim Kardashian, private jet service is in demand, but not just for the individual high wealth individual.

More often than not, the regular user of a private jet is a mid-40s male flying on business. He normally flies with 3 or 4 other associates and his personal assistant is the one booking the travel arrangements via the desktop computer in the office as well as the mobile phone.

Franchise History 101

The Singer Manufacturing Company never really did offer actual franchises but did grow the company through its local offices which were independently managed by employees.

The first franchise as we know it today, is often attributed to Canadian-American Martha Matilda Harper who franchised her hair care in 1891 through Harper Method Shops in New York. She offered start up and continual business training along with products and advertising services, not to mention group insurance and the all-important motivation.

Following the industrial revolution, franchises sprung up in the field of manufacturing along with beverages and automotives. In 1902, Rexall offered a US$4,000 investment opportunity to own your own drug store. This was soon followed by the likes of A&W Root Beer stands, Ben Franklin general merchandise stores, White Castle hamburger restaurants, and car rental companies like Hertz and Avis.

The most familiar and still successful franchises today involve food, such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Dairy Queen, Dunkin Donuts, and IHOP. Also included in the franchise line-up still going strong today are Holiday Inn, Sheraton, H&R Block, and Midas Muffler to name a few.

Today, the International Franchise Association (IFA) represents more than 1,300 franchisors, 10,000 franchisees, and more than 600 professionals and suppliers to the franchise industry – including private jet charters.