Fly Louie (White Plains) has announced the launch of the Fly Louie Alliance, which intends to promote growth amongst the more than 2,000 private air charter operators in the US by creating operational efficiencies.

The private air charter industry is heavily fragmented, but through this alliance, Fly Louie is seeking to prove the economics of this segment of air travel for its operators and passengers. The alliance believes that by having scale it can help solve some of the issues that private charter operators have, like rising fuel costs, increased competition from larger operators, human resource problems as well as customer service and marketing needs.

Julia Takeda, Chief Executive Officer of Fly Louie, said: "We're thrilled by the response from operators and FBOs alike. Our experience in the charter industry has made it abundantly clear that operators face common challenges, and these challenges can be overcome with scale and leverage. We're proud to help operators overcome those challenges while preserving and encouraging their independence. It's clear from the response that we're on to something."

The first benefit for alliance members, which currently requires no membership fees or fuel purchase minimums, was launched on October 1, with members able to buy fuel at discounted rates at 30 Fixed Base Operators (FBO) across the US. In addition to the FBOs, the Fly Louie Alliance has also added 20 operators and 153 aircraft to its network over the last six weeks.

The Part 135 community of independent operators and FBOs is already discussing what benefits should come next. Tackling employee travel costs, streamlining pilot recruitment and retention, or improving the cooperation across charter operators to help them better match supply with demand for charters have all been mooted as the next step.

Fly Louie is a New York-based private air travel company, which was established in 2017, when it began seasonal private air shuttle routes to destinations including Nantucket and Pittsburgh Allegheny County, and expanded to Bedford, MA, Philadelphia Wings Field and Philadelphia Northeast in 2019. It says on its website that it is currently working on its summer 2020 schedule.