The Marketplace is now our primary tool when sourcing aircraft. Every time we start a search, we use the Marketplace. We source 100% of our European aircraft, and 90% of our aircraft across the entire business, through the Avinode Marketplace.

– Michael J. Ogulnik, Chief Executive Officer

In those few simple words, Michael J. Ogulnik, chief executive officer of Quantum Jets, sums up the company’s philosophy of professionalism with a personal touch. The California-based private aviation broker is particularly well known for arranging charter flights for music and entertainment tours but also operates extensively in the business and leisure sectors.

So how has Avinode been helping Quantum Jets build a reputation for excellence since the broker launched in 2011?

Sophisticated aircraft sourcing

Although Quantum Jets did not use the Avinode Marketplace from Day One, Ogulnik, and company president Nick Bascue had enough industry experience to know they wanted the technology.

Ogulnik says: “Nick and I understand the operational side of private aviation very well, which means we know which solutions will best meet the needs of our clients.”

The company had to find the right technology to make the most of that expert knowledge. Within a year of launching the business, Quantum Jets turned to Avinode.

“Before introducing the Avinode Marketplace, we had to use ancient technologies to source aircraft,” says Ogulnik. “And those methods, which basically included industry phone books and social media platforms, were not really sophisticated enough to meet our needs. We were literally calling individual operators directly to discuss aircraft availability.” Quantum Jets clearly needed fast, up-to-date information from multiple operators, which is why the company signed up for the Avinode Marketplace.

Seizing empty leg opportunities

The ability to sell empty legs can provide a very welcome revenue ‘bonus’ to brokers and operators. But brokers can hardly match clients’ needs with operators’ opportunities almost by chance, through hopeful direct inquiries. They need an efficient and up-to-date empty leg search engine…and that’s where Avinode came to Quantum Jets’ rescue. “We’d find it almost impossible to sell empty legs without the listings posted on the Avinode Marketplace,” says Ogulnik.

Generating quotes at speed

Eager to support clients quickly and efficiently, Quantum Jets began using TripManager in 2014. Automatically populating quotes with information, ranging from details of FBO services to inflight catering, TripManager minimizes the time Quantum Jets’ brokers need to spend entering data.

“Now, it only takes us around a minute to prepare a quote,” says Ogulnik.

“Before, the process was slow and manual, as we were effectively starting from the beginning with each new quote. Every detail – from aircraft photographs and tail numbers through to tax data – would have to be separately added to each quote every time. We might have been working for hours if the client needed multiple quotes. TripManager makes our job so much easier and saves us a huge amount of time.” Michael J. Ogulnik, Chief Executive Officer.

TripManager’s templates and pre-population of quotes mean room for error is minimized. “I’d say I spend 50% less time now checking my team’s quotes, compared to when we worked without TripManager,” says Ogulnik. “And I make fewer mistakes myself. Before TripManager, when I was generating a quote by overwriting an existing quote, I would keep forgetting to change the date. That’s not a problem now.”

Minimal training time

Every company aims for maximum efficiency. Quantum Jets’ management team naturally want new staff members to be working productively as quickly as possible. “Understanding how to use Avinode’s technology is just about the easiest thing we have to do across our entire business,” says Ogulnik. “If you can use an online travel booking service like Expedia, you can use Avinode. You’ll learn everything you need to know in just a couple of days. If you can’t use Avinode’s technology, you’re in the wrong industry.”

Growing together through feedback

Honest feedback is always a good thing. Acting on that feedback is even better. “It’s great watching Avinode’s technology evolve in response to customer feedback,” says Ogulnik. “To stay alive, the platform has to keep improving. Avinode is really aware of the importance of client satisfaction. Whenever we have questions, requests or feedback, Avinode’s customer support team responds very quickly.”

“I would never give up Avinode. No other platform can do what Avinode’s technology does. No other tools come close.”

– Michael J. Ogulnik, Chief Executive Officer.