Aircraft Broker Course Guide

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Aircraft Broker Course

Marketing and Prospecting for Aircraft Brokers

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Brokers rarely lack aircraft to offer. What they lack is clients who trust them. Aircraft broker marketing is the slow work of becoming the person those clients call, without misleading anyone about who you are or who flies the aircraft.

This guide covers the buyers, the prospecting channels, the US, UK and EU rules on advertising, email and calls, broker websites and measurement. Founding a charter business is on how to start a charter brokerage, and software and data subscriptions are on aircraft broker tools. This page is general information, not legal advice; ask an attorney to review your marketing before you launch it.

Key points

  • Charter and sales brokers sell to different people. Charter clients book trips; sales clients make one large decision every few years.
  • Referrals, a professional network, industry events, listing sites and other brokers are the usual channels. None of them produces clients on a predictable schedule.
  • In the US, every charter broker advertisement and web page must say the firm is a broker and not the carrier in operational control (14 CFR 295.23). DOT has told brokers not to describe aircraft as "our fleet".
  • FTC law requires ads to be truthful and backed by evidence before they run. CAN-SPAM applies to business-to-business email. FCC rules limit autodialed and prerecorded calls and texts.
  • In the UK, marketing emails to individuals need consent or a soft opt-in, and call lists must be screened against the TPS and CTPS.
  • EBACE 2026 was cancelled. NBAA-BACE is held each autumn; the 2026 edition is dated 20 to 22 October in Las Vegas.

Who the buyers are

The two kinds of brokerage sell to different people, so they market differently. The difference between a broker and an operator is explained on what is a private jet broker. The descriptions below are general; no public data source counts these groups.

Charter brokers

  • Individuals who fly privately. Some book often, others once a year.
  • Assistants and family office staff. They often arrange the trip and choose the broker, even when someone else pays.
  • Corporate travel buyers. Companies without their own aircraft, sometimes through a formal supplier selection.
  • Groups and events. Teams, tour managers and event organisers.
  • Other brokers. A broker without access to a region or aircraft type may pass a trip to one who has it, often with a shared fee.

Sales brokers

  • Owners who want to sell or upgrade. A sale mandate starts with an owner, or an adviser, choosing a broker.
  • Buyers and their flight departments. Chief pilots and aviation managers often shape the shortlist even when the owner signs.
  • Dealers and other brokers. Many transactions involve a broker on each side. A broker who works well with others hears about aircraft before they are listed.
  • Advisers around the owner. Lawyers, accountants, management companies and lenders often know when an aircraft is about to change hands.

The steps from letter of intent to closing are on how an aircraft sale closes.

Prospecting channels

Aviation prospecting is mostly relationship work. The channels below are in no particular order, and none comes with a reliable conversion rate.

Referrals and your existing network

Most brokers start with people who already know them. Past employers, pilots, operators, FBO staff and earlier clients can introduce you, and referrals come from doing small jobs well. If you pay for referrals, the payment can be a material connection that must be disclosed in any endorsement (see the FTC section below).

LinkedIn and professional profiles

LinkedIn prospecting for aviation is slow, personal work. Write a clear profile, publish useful notes on market or regulatory topics, and contact people one at a time with a reason to talk. Avoid automation tools. LinkedIn's User Agreement (effective 3 November 2025) forbids using "bots or other unauthorized automated methods" to add contacts or send messages, and forbids software that scrapes profiles. A charter broker's company page is advertising, so it needs the Part 295 statement.

Industry events

Trade shows put operators, dealers, manufacturers and buyers in one place. The 2026 edition of NBAA-BACE is dated 20 to 22 October 2026 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, West Hall, with an aircraft display at Henderson Executive Airport on 20 and 21 October, according to the show's website. The organiser's home page shows no registration prices, so check the registration page for current rates. Europe's show is different this year: the European Business Aviation Association cancelled EBACE26, which had been scheduled for 2 to 4 June 2026 in Geneva, and its site gives no date for a future edition.

Smaller regional events are often easier places to talk. Budget for travel and entry on the first-year cost page.

Listing sites for aircraft sales

Sales brokers advertise mandates on public listing sites. AvBuyer says a seller can advertise an aircraft online "instantly", with the ad also appearing in the next print and digital edition of AvBuyer or GA Buyer Europe, plus e-marketing alerts. It publishes no prices on that page. Controller.com also carries listings from dealers and owners; its advertising page could not be read for this guide, so we do not quote its packages or prices. JETNET describes its Marketplace product as "Aircraft listings, valuations, and market intelligence"; it is part of JETNET's paid data service rather than a free public listing site, and is covered on aircraft broker tools.

A listing is advertising, so every figure in it should match the records you hold.

Co-broker networks and associations

Brokers often find work through other brokers, for example a buyer looking for an aircraft another broker has listed. Charter brokers meet operators and other brokers on sourcing platforms such as Avinode (see tools). Sales dealers and brokers meet through groups such as IADA, which describes its members as "Accredited Dealers. Certified Brokers." Membership rules and what each credential means are on aircraft broker certification.

Before you pass a client to another broker, or take one from them, agree in writing who pays whom. Vet every operator first, as set out in charter broker due diligence.

The rules that shape broker marketing

Part 295: the broker statement in all advertising

In the United States, 14 CFR 295.23 requires all solicitation materials and advertisements of an air charter broker, "including internet web pages", to state clearly and conspicuously that the firm is an air charter broker, that it is not a direct air carrier in operational control of aircraft, and that the service will be provided by a properly licensed direct air carrier. A broker may show its name and logo on an aircraft only if the operator's name is displayed prominently and consumers are not otherwise misled. The full set of Part 295 duties, including the disclosures due before a contract, is on what Part 295 requires you to disclose.

FTC: truthful ads and honest endorsements

The Federal Trade Commission's guide for small business sets out three basics: advertising "must be truthful and non-deceptive", advertisers "must have evidence to back up their claims", and they need that proof "before the ad runs". For brokers that includes safety claims, prices and aircraft details in listings.

Testimonials fall under the FTC's Endorsement Guides. An endorsement "must reflect the honest opinion of the endorser", and a connection between endorser and business that consumers would not expect, such as payment or a family tie, should be disclosed clearly. On 14 August 2024 the FTC announced a final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials, including reviews by people who do not exist or who had no actual experience with the business, and payments conditioned on positive reviews.

CAN-SPAM: commercial email

The FTC's compliance guide says the CAN-SPAM Act "makes no exception for business-to-business email". Every marketing email must avoid false headers and misleading subject lines, identify itself as an ad, give your physical location, and tell recipients how to opt out. Opt-outs must be honoured within 10 business days. Each email in violation can carry a penalty of up to $53,088, according to the FTC's current guide.

TCPA: calls and texts

The Federal Communications Commission's consumer guide to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (reviewed 27 February 2026) says callers need prior written consent before a prerecorded telemarketing call to a home or mobile number, and consent before an autodialed or prerecorded call or text to a mobile number. Commercial texts require written consent. Telemarketing calls to a home are prohibited before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m., and callers must honour a do-not-call request immediately. The National Do Not Call Registry covers landline and wireless numbers, and many states keep their own lists.

UK and EU: PECR and GDPR

In the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office says you must not send marketing emails or texts to individuals unless they have consented or are existing customers covered by the "soft opt-in", which needs a clear chance to opt out when details are collected and in every message. You can email corporate bodies, but sole traders and some partnerships count as individuals. You must not make marketing calls to numbers on the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) or Corporate TPS without specific consent, so call lists must be screened. Prospect data is also subject to UK GDPR, and the ICO says this guidance is under review after the Data (Use and Access) Act. EU countries apply their own national rules alongside the GDPR, so check with the regulator in each market you target. Aviation rules are on the UK and Europe licence page.

What to put on an aircraft broker website

A broker website is advertising under both Part 295 and FTC law.

  • The Part 295 statement. Place it where visitors will see it, for example in the header or footer of every page and next to any quote form, not only in the terms.
  • Who operates the flights. Explain that flights are operated by certificated carriers you select for each trip, and named before the contract.
  • No "our fleet". In a 2004 notice, DOT's aviation enforcement office told brokers without carrier authority not to describe aircraft in ways that suggest they are the operator, giving "our fleet", "our charters" and "we operate a fleet of" as examples. Gallery pages of aircraft you do not operate, shown without explanation, create the same impression. Label photos as examples of aircraft types available through operators, and use only images you have the rights to.
  • Honest claims. Safety ratings, membership logos and client testimonials must be real and current.
  • Privacy. A privacy notice and clear consent wording on forms.

The reason DOT and the FAA care is "holding out". The FAA's advisory circular on private and common carriage, AC 120-12A, says that "signs and advertising are the most direct means of 'holding out'", and that holding out may also happen "through the actions of agents, agencies, or salesmen". So the way aircraft are advertised can itself form part of a holding out, which is why a broker's marketing should never blur who the carrier is.

Measuring results without promises

Deals are few and slow, so keep simple records:

  • Record the source of every enquiry: referral, event, LinkedIn, website, listing site or another broker.
  • Track the steps after it: enquiries, quotes or proposals sent, trips flown or mandates signed, and deals closed.
  • Record what each channel costs in money and time.
  • Review each quarter and drop what produces nothing after a fair trial.

Be wary of anyone who promises a number of clients or a level of income from a marketing method, a coaching programme or a course. What brokers earn, and why it varies so much, is on aircraft broker salary. Sales skills training for brokers is compared on sales broker training and charter broker training, and wider aviation and FBO sales courses are on aviation sales training.

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Frequently asked questions

How do aircraft brokers find clients?

Mostly through relationships: referrals from past clients, operators, pilots and other brokers, plus a professional network built on LinkedIn and at industry events. Sales brokers also list aircraft on sites such as AvBuyer and Controller.com. No channel produces clients on a fixed schedule.

What must a charter broker's advertising say?

Under 14 CFR 295.23, all US charter broker ads and web pages must clearly state that the firm is an air charter broker, not a direct air carrier in operational control of aircraft, and that flights are provided by a properly licensed direct air carrier.

Can I send cold emails to business prospects?

In the US, CAN-SPAM applies to business email too: no misleading headers or subject lines, identify the ad, give your address and honour opt-outs within 10 business days. In the UK you can email companies, but sole traders count as individuals and need consent.

Can a broker show aircraft photos on its website?

Yes, if you have rights to the images and they do not suggest you operate the aircraft. DOT has told brokers not to use phrases such as "our fleet". Label photos as examples of aircraft available through certificated operators.

Is EBACE taking place in 2026?

No. The European Business Aviation Association cancelled EBACE26, which had been planned for 2 to 4 June 2026 in Geneva. The 2026 edition of NBAA-BACE is dated 20 to 22 October 2026 in Las Vegas; check the show's site for later years.

Sources

Every source below was checked on 17 October 2026.

About this guide. Aircraft Broker Course is published by the International Aircraft Broker Institute (IABI), which sells aircraft broker training. Where a page mentions an IABI course, that is our own product. No course can promise a job, an income or a license. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. How this site works.