Oxygen 4 warns that brokers need to be extra vigilant

Broker Oxygen 4 has stepped up its already stringent checks on services provided by suppliers. Co-director Mark Green says: "The Oxygen 4 team in the office have intensified their flight-watch service and have become even more fastidious with flight arrangements. This is necessary because increasing flights will reach such a level that airports will need to recruit more staff. Until then, there is an additional workload that needs to be covered by fewer people. With recent redundancies and non-replacement of staff at airports, brokers need to be extra careful to make sure that the airports and handling agents are coping with the increasing workload."

With the traditional markets beginning to pick up again Green says: "The industry has been in a period of depression but I consider that we are now in the upwards transition stage between the poorer times and the good times. I sincerely believe that it is now that a good broker will really show their worth to their clients."

He adds: "A broker is able to handle any number of flights without the risk of overlap, whereas some aircraft providers are adopting a 'make hay now the sun is beginning to shine attitude' and this can cause conflicts with flights overlapping and consequently delays if flights for separate clients are scheduled too closely together."

Green warns: "What we as an industry cannot afford to do is to upset clients who are returning to private charter by providing a sub-standard service."