DER, one of Germany's largest business travel agencies, has signed an agreement with leading private jet company Air Partner to provide jets for its clients at fixed prices.
The agreement also provides for guaranteed availability if the aircraft is booked 48 hours in advance.
A spokeswoman for DER said the deal was the first of its kind in Germany. Previously jets were priced in terms of individual routes which was complicated and reduced use.
DER is part of the REWE tourism group and all agencies within that group are covered by the deal, including DERPART and Atlas Travel.
The spokeswoman said the deal applied to small and medium-sized jets.
The move by DER follows both the significant rise in the use of private jets in the last nine months by business travellers and the successful launch by Lufthansa of its Lufthansa Private Jet service in Munich in March.
This scheme, operated by Netjets, an American private jet company, has since expanded to include Frankfurt.
Air Partner, based near Gatwick Airport in the UK, is one of the world's largest private jet charter companies with operations in 12 countries. It has three offices in Germany in Cologne, Frankfurt and Hamburg.
KDS-Cendant deal
KDS, the online travel solutions provider, has signed a new deal with Cendant Travel Distribution Services making its products part o of the latter's package for corporate clients.
The agreement, which includes KDS's self booking tools and expense management system, will cover Cendant's clients in the EMEA and Asia Pacific regions. The deal comes into effect immediately.
A statement by KDS said their products would now become a “key” part of Cendant's travel services and said the deal would benefit both corporates and travel management companies.