How a benchmark is built, and what it does not tell you.
Most advice in this market asks you to trust a number. The point of this page is that you should not have to. Everything below describes what we do, where the figures come from, and where the method runs out.
Operator rate cards, sourced directly, with a date on them.
Charter prices are not published. There is no index to look a route up in. So the reference set has to be built by asking operators, one at a time, what they charge.
We can do that because we are not a broker. We send operators no bookings and take no money from them, so we are not a competitor asking a rival for its pricing. We record what each operator tells us, for each aircraft type, with the date it was given and how long it is valid.
- Hourly rate by aircraft type, and whether it varies with trip length
- Positioning policy, and whether positioning is charged, reduced or included
- Minimum daily hours or minimum charge
- What sits outside the hourly rate: landing, handling, de-icing, catering, crew overnight
- VAT and passenger duty treatment
- Peak and short-notice uplift
- Date captured, validity period, and how often the operator reprices
Current state, stated plainly: the reference set is being built now, operator by operator. We would rather tell you that than imply a database we do not yet hold.
A rate is either what an operator would quote you directly, or what it charges a trade buyer.
These are not the same number, and a benchmark that mixes them without saying which is which is not a benchmark.
Operator direct
What the operator would have quoted you if you had rung them yourself. The smaller figure, and the one you can act on, because ringing the operator is something you are able to do. Every variance measured on this basis corresponds to a decision available to you.
Trade net
What the operator charges an intermediary before the intermediary adds margin. The larger figure. It is useful for understanding how the market is structured, but you have no trade account and in most cases cannot buy at that price, so much of the gap it shows is not available to you.
Every figure in a Zonda report states which basis it sits on. Where we hold both for a route and aircraft type, the report shows both.
Your records
Invoices, quotes and booking confirmations. We work from what you were actually charged, not from a summary of it. No access to your systems is needed.
Normalisation
Each leg is reduced to a comparable unit: route, aircraft category, passenger count, date, block time, and which charges were bundled into the headline price.
Matching
Each leg is matched against operator rates for the same aircraft category on the same route, at rates valid on or close to the date you flew. Seasonality and short notice are treated as adjustments, not ignored.
Benchmark
The benchmark for a leg is drawn from at least three independent operator sources. Entities under common ownership count once, because their rates are set centrally. Where fewer than three exist, the report says so and gives no figure.
Variance
The difference between what you paid and the benchmark, per leg, with the number of sources and the date range behind each figure shown alongside it.
You should be able to interrogate any figure we give you.
- Which basis the rate sits on, operator direct or trade net
- How many independent operator sources support it
- The date the rates were captured and the period they were valid for
- How the rate was obtained: direct call, written rate card, or published price
If you ask where a number came from, you get an answer. That is the whole point of the firm.
What this method does not do.
Identified is not recovered
We identify variance against benchmark rates. We do not guarantee it is recoverable. Whether you can act on it depends on your contract with your broker, on whether the operator will deal with you directly, and on account minimums we cannot see. No fee we charge is contingent on you recovering anything.
A benchmark is a point in time
Charter rates move. A benchmark states what comparable capacity could have been obtained for at a stated date. You can reproduce our method. You will not reproduce the exact figure three months later, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.
Our analysis is only as good as your records
Incomplete or partial records produce incomplete conclusions. We will tell you what we could not assess rather than estimate around the gap.
We do not price your specific aircraft
Benchmarks are by aircraft category, not by tail number. Age, cabin configuration and condition move price within a category, and we do not claim to hold that detail for every airframe.
Our fee comes from the client and nowhere else.
We do not book flights. We hold no interest in any aircraft, operator or broker. We accept no commission, introducer fee, rebate or marketing payment from any operator or intermediary, whether or not that party appears in a report we write for you. We pay no referral fee to anyone for introducing you.
That is written into our client agreement, not just onto this page. If it ever changes we will tell you in writing before doing any further work, and you may end the engagement on being told.